Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins are still adding onto their roster, with reports surfacing on Friday of UCLA getting a commitment from Gunars Grindvalds. Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com was the first to report on the Bruins landing the forward from Real Madrid.
Grindvalds hails from Latvia with the 6’7” 18-year old scoring 8.3 points per game in the Euroleague. Against professional competition, Grindvalds 41% from the field, 31% from three with 3.8 rebounds. The numbers aren’t jaw-dropping but Grindvalds was a 17-year old playing less than 20 minutes per game
The 2026-2027 season will be Grindvalds’ first taste of American basketball but the young forward could be ready to produce immediately after jumping back to the amateur level. With college schools now targeting former professional players and now UCLA has one, even if Grindvalds is still the age of a typical college freshman.
Grindvalds won’t be the first player to wind up in Los Angeles after playing for Real Madrid, Lakers superstar Luka Dončić played for the team as a teenager before skipping college to be the third pick in the NBA Draft.
UCLA made a run at Tounde Yessofou to help fill out their roster on the wing but after Yessofou landed with St. John’s, the Bruins were still able to land an intriguing option on the wing with Grindvalds. It also continues Cronin’s ability to land European talent, with Grindvalds, Sergej Macure and Filip Jovic all coming to the Bruins in the portal this offseason.
It’ll be a big question to see how Grindvalds’ game adjusts at the NCAA level but it’s easy to dream on the upside of the forward.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Real Madrid forward Gunars Grindvalds commits to UCLA Bruins
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network
