The UCLA Bruins saw a second member of their 2026 Big Ten Conference champion baseball team enter the portal on Monday, with outfielder Payton Brennan jumping into the portal after four years with UCLA.
Brennan has been a Bruin since 2023, when he used a redshirt year. Since the redshirt freshman season, Brennan has been a mainstay in the UCLA lineup, starting in 138 games over the past three seasons.
The 2026 season was a strong one for Brennan, who set a new career-high in home runs (9), runs batted in (52) and slugging percentage (.493). While Brennan’s average dipped from 2025 to 2026, his on base percentage actually increased to .392.
Brennan grew up in the Sacramento region in Rocklin, California but now could potentially be headed out-of-state for the first time in his college career for his senior season.
UCLA has now lost two players to the transfer portal, with right-handed reliever Jack O’Connor entering the portal last week. The Bruins had such an impressive core in 2026 but the team could be looking a bit different next season, with several mainstays set to depart in this summer’s MLB Draft, including Golden Spikes finalist Roch Cholowsky and ace Logan Reddemann.
Plenty of teams around college baseball will be interested in the experienced, 6’3” outfielder that has College World Series experience under his belt. If Brennan does leave Westwood in the portal, he’ll depart with a career .289 batting average, 16 homers and 103 RBI over his 144 game career with the Bruins.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA Bruins outfielder Payton Brennan enters the transfer portal
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network
