Former Oregon State forward Timea Gardiner to transfer to UCLA

Leeds reach playoff final one step from PL return

All-Pac-12 forward Timea Gardiner has committed to UCLA after entering the transfer portal out of Oregon State, she announced on social media Wednesday.

Gardiner, a 6-foot-3 rising junior, joins a UCLA squad that is reloading by also bringing in another former Pac-12 star in four-time all-conference guard Charlisse Leger-Walker from Washington State.

The Oregon State Beavers saw eight players hit the transfer portal this offseason. Upon the disintegration of the Pac-12, the athletic department will begin a two-year affiliate membership with the WCC for women's basketball and 11 other sports.

The 2024 Pac-12 sixth player of the year, Gardiner helped propel the Beavers into one of the best teams in the Pac-12 this season as well as their third Elite Eight appearance since 2016.

She averaged 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while hitting 39.5% on 3-pointers as a sophomore this season; as a freshman, she was limited to 15 contests after blood clots were discovered in her lungs.

Gardiner was the highest-ranked recruit in program history (No. 6 in the Class of 2022 per espnW) at the time of her commitment to Corvallis.

The Bruins, who are headed to the Big Ten after a Sweet 16 exit in March, lost fifth-year senior Charisma Osborne to the WNBA but return rising juniors Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked recruits in the class of 2022 per ESPN.