Donovan Dent

Donovan Dent
Dent with the New Mexico Lobos in 2024
No. 2 – UCLA Bruins
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2003-12-02) December 2, 2003
Riverside, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentennial (Corona, California)
College
Career highlights

Donovan Dent (born December 2, 2003) is an American college basketball point guard for the UCLA Bruins of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the New Mexico Lobos, earning conference player of the year honors in the Mountain West in 2025.

High school career

Dent was born in Riverside, California,[1] and attended Centennial High School in Corona. As a senior, he averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 assists per game, leading Centennial to a 33–1 record and a state championship.[2][3] As a result, he was named California Mr. Basketball and the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year.[4][5] A four-star recruit, he committed to play college basketball at the University of New Mexico.[6][7]

College career

After playing a role as a reserve during his freshman year, Dent had a breakout season as a sophomore.[8] Against Colorado State, Dent hit the game-winning layup to defeat the Rams, 68–66.[9] He finished his sophomore campaign averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 assists per game, while being named to the second-team All-Mountain West.[10]

During his junior season in 2024–25, Dent emerged as the Mountain West Conference's leading scorer.[11] Against VCU, he scored a career-high 40 points leading the Lobos to a 78–71 victory.[12] After standout performances against Fresno State and UNLV, Dent was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for the third time of the season.[13] He finished the season averaging 20.5 points and 6.4 assists per game and was named the Mountain West Player of the Year.[14] He also received honorable mention from both the Associated Press and United States Basketball Writers Association for their All-America teams.[15][16]

After the season, Dent entered the transfer portal.[17] On March 28, 2025, he announced his decision to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles, to play for the Bruins.[18][19] He struggled early in the 2025–26 season while dealing with a string of injuries and the pressure of returning home to the Los Angeles area amid high expectations.[20][21] On January 20, 2026, Dent had 23 points and 13 assists in a 69–67 upset win over No. 4 Purdue.[22] His play improved after a February 17 loss to Michigan State.[23] On February 21 against Illinois, he took the inbound pass with 4.9 seconds remaining in the game and drove the length of the court to make the game-winning layup at the buzzer for a 95–94 overtime win over the No. 10 Illini. He finished the game with 14 points and 15 assists and no turnovers.[24][25] In the following game against USC, he scored a season-high 30 points and added eight assists with no turnovers in an 81–62 win over their crosstown rivals.[25] Dent received honorable mention for the All-Big Ten team.[26] In UCLA's opener in the Big Ten tournament, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists for his first career triple-double in a 72–59 win over Rutgers.[27] It was the first triple-double in the tournament's history.[28] In the following game, he had 23 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, and four steals in an 88–84 quarterfinals win over No. 8–ranked and third-seeded Michigan State.[23][29][30] He was limited to two points in 10 minutes in the semifinals against Purdue after suffering a mild calf strain. Already playing without their leading scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, who left the quarterfinals with a minor knee strain, the Bruins lost to the Boilermakers 73–66.[31]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 New Mexico 34 2 18.5 .507 .211 .685 2.0 2.3 .9 .7 5.6
2023–24 New Mexico 35 35 31.3 .520 .375 .682 2.5 5.4 1.5 .7 14.1
2024–25 New Mexico 35 35 35.3 .490 .409 .784 2.3 6.4 1.4 .9 20.4

See also

References

  1. ^ "Donovan Dent". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  2. ^ "Boys' basketball player of the year: Donovan Dent of Corona Centennial". Los Angeles Times. 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  3. ^ "Centennial's Donovan Dent is the IE Varsity boys basketball player of the year". Daily Bulletin. 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  4. ^ Flores, Ronnie. "Mr. Basketball 2022: Making A Dent". Cal-Hi Sports. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  5. ^ "Centennial High Athlete Receives 2022 John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award". www.cnusd.k12.ca.us. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  6. ^ Grammer, Geoff (2021-09-15). "Lobos look 'Inland' once again for latest hoops recruit". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  7. ^ "Donovan Dent says yes to New Mexico basketball". KRQE. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  8. ^ Grammer, Geoff (2023-12-11). "Lobos' super sophomore Donovan Dent continues to crush California competition". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  9. ^ Webber, Will (2024-02-22). "Dent's game-winning play for Lobos makes social media splash". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  10. ^ Grammer, Geoff (2024-11-03). "Mountain West coaches heap praise on Donovan Dent as he leads Lobos into season". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  11. ^ Grammer, Geoff (2025-01-13). "Around the Mountain: UNM's Dent, honored again with a weekly award, is making case for Player of the Year". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  12. ^ Webber, Will (2024-12-18). "Lobos' Dent puts up career-high 40 points in 78-71 win over VCU". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  13. ^ "Donovan Dent Earns Mountain West Player of the Week Honors". KRQE. 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  14. ^ Heisen, Aaron (2025-03-29). "Inside look at why Donovan Dent is transferring to UCLA". Daily News. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  15. ^ "Associated Press All-America Team". AP News. March 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "USBWA unveils 2024-25 Men's All-America Team". United States Basketball Writers Association (Press release). March 19, 2025. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  17. ^ Champion, Brandon (2025-03-25). "New Mexico star enters transfer portal days after loss to Michigan State". mlive. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  18. ^ "UCLA lands MWC Player of Year Dent from portal". ESPN.com. 2025-03-29. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  19. ^ "UCLA finds its Dylan Andrews replacement in former New Mexico standout Donovan Dent". Los Angeles Times. 2025-03-29. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  20. ^ Bolch, Ben (December 3, 2025). "New defensive alignment and returning Tyler Bilodeau lift UCLA past Washington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  21. ^ Bolch, Ben (November 25, 2025). "Mick Cronin blames himself after UCLA's troubling loss to Cal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  22. ^ Solorzano, Anthony (January 20, 2026). "Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau lead UCLA to stunning upset of No. 4 Purdue". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  23. ^ a b Kartje, Ryan (March 13, 2026). "UCLA stuns Michigan State to advance to Big Ten tournament semifinals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  24. ^ Campbel, Sean (February 21, 2026). "Donovan Dent channels Tyus Edney, lifts UCLA to stunning OT win over No. 10 Illinois". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  25. ^ a b Bolch, Ben (February 25, 2026). "UCLA basketball's winning formula could carry the team well into March". New York Post. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  26. ^ McNeill, Dylan (March 10, 2026). "Tyler Bilodeau is the only Bruin to get Big Ten All-Conference honors". USA Today. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  27. ^ Morrissette, Connor (March 12, 2026). "Donovan Dent's triple-double leads UCLA to third round Big Ten Tournament win over Rutgers, 72-59". 247Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  28. ^ Kartje, Ryan (March 12, 2026). "Donovan Dent achieves Big Ten tourney history in UCLA win over Rutgers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  29. ^ Bolch, Ben (March 13, 2026). "UCLA withstands loss of Tyler Bilodeau to beat Michigan State". California Post. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  30. ^ "UCLA loses Bilodeau but ousts Michigan St. in Big Ten quarters". ESPN. AP. March 13, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  31. ^ Kartje, Ryan (March 14, 2026). "UCLA falls to Purdue in Big Ten semifinal without injured Tyler Bilodeau". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
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