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    UCLA’s Eric Freeny intends to stay for sophomore season
    • March 28, 2026

    LOS ANGELES — Redshirt freshman Eric Freeny intends on remaining with the UCLA men’s basketball team, multiple sources close to Freeny have confirmed to the Southern California News Group.

    Freeny, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Corona, played 11 minutes per game this past season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Over the final third of the season, he emerged as a key bench piece for the Bruins.

    He hit a pair of 3-point shots in UCLA’s 71-60 win at Penn State on Jan. 14. He grabbed four offensive rebounds in a 72-52 victory over Nebraska on March 3. He tied a season-high with 23 minutes in UCLA’s 73-66 Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss to Purdue, scoring eight points and tallying five rebounds.

    Freeny, a four-star recruit out of Centennial High in the 2024 recruiting class, opted to redshirt his first year at UCLA. Bruins head coach Mick Cronin and his staff brought him along, leaning into his strengths as a bulkier, 200-pound guard. They emphasized rebounding and defense. Then this season, when he earned his opportunity, those aspects of his game came naturally. Effort was his ticket to remaining on the court.

    Earlier in the season, Cronin offered an analogy to describe Freeny’s motor.

    “You want to figure out who the toughest guy on the team is?” Cronin said. “If you circled them all up and dropped a ball from the ceiling, who was going to come out of the pile with it? That’s your toughest guy. I think I’d take Free.”

    “I just have to keep on working,” Freeny said March 3 about his development. “No ceiling, just have to keep on going. That’s it. That’s what it’s going to take.”

    He wants to continue that development and leave a legacy at UCLA, a source told the SCNG.

    In recent days, Freeny met with UCLA’s coaching staff to discuss the outlook on his playing time next season and come to an agreement financially.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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