Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Eric Dailey Jr. (3) reacts during the second half against the Utah State Aggies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

How Disrespected UCLA Hoops Was in Latest Preseason Rankings

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Connor Moreno | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 6:00 AM ET

We're just under a month away from Mick Cronin's long-anticipated seventh season coaching the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team.

The 2025-26 roster has arguably one of the highest ceilings of any team he's coached in Westwood, and that's because of the game-changing addition of New Mexico transfer point guard Donovan Dent.

With such little time before the season starts, rankings and polls are taking shape across all platforms, and the Bruins might have been underrated in The Athletic's latest preseason Big Ten rankings.

College basketball staff writer CJ Moore released his rankings of, arguably, the deepest conference in the country this season, and he placed UCLA as the seventh-best team in the Big Ten. Moore did acknowledge that he may be underrating the Bruins, placing them in the "Could make me look bad for slotting too low" tier along with Indiana, Michigan State and Oregon.

On why he slotted the Bruins where he did, Moore said. "UCLA was good enough defensively a year ago but its offense needed someone to make the game easier for everyone else. Cronin likely landed that player in Dent, who was one of the best guards in the country and should help Dailey and Bilodeau be the best versions of themselves.

"Cronin’s best teams at UCLA have had a high assist rate point guard and have suffered since Tyger Campbell graduated. Dent has had a 30-plus assist rate the last two seasons. The hope is he takes UCLA’s offense from good to great."

The Dent addition is huge, and it may be the difference in the Bruins making a deep run in March. So much so that the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year found himself earning preseason Big Ten honors.

Dent Recognized in Preseason Conference Awards

Dent is already making waves in a newer, bigger conference than he's used to. The reigning Mountain West Player of the Year was one of 10 hoopers to make the preseason All-Big Ten Men's Basketball team, the Big Ten announced Tuesday.

Here's the list of names on the Big Ten's preseason team:

Donovan Dent, UCLA
Braden Smith, Purdue
Bennett Stritz, Iowa
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
John Blackwell, Wisconsin

Dent will be one of the biggest names to watch in all of college hoops, not just the Big Ten. He has a skillset that Cronin hasn't had at point guard in his career.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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