Donovan Dent commits to UCLA from portal after New Mexico exit - ESPN

New Mexico transfer Donovan Dent, the best available player in the transfer portal, announced his commitment to UCLA on Friday.

Dent was also heavily linked to Kentucky since entering the transfer portal earlier this week.

A 6-foot-2 guard from California, Dent won Mountain West Player of the Year honors this season after averaging 20.4 points and 6.5 assists — ranking in the top 15 in the country in both categories.

Cronin should be familiar with Dent, since New Mexico beat UCLA back in early November. The point guard finished with 17 points and 8 assists, going 8-for-13 from the field in the win.

Dent also had big nonconference games against Arizona State (30 points and 7 assists) and VCU (40 points) and finished the season on a tear, scoring at least 20 points in nine of his final 10 games before the NCAA tournament — including 33 points and 7 assists against Nevada in early March.

He then went head-to-head against Marquette All-American guard Kam Jones in the first round of the NCAA tournament and finished with 21 points and 6 assists in a win over the Golden Eagles.

UCLA will feature Dent at the starting point guard spot next season. Dylan Andrews, who started 61 games the past two seasons for the Bruins, entered the transfer portal on Wednesday night.