Mar 22, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara (15) reacts after the game against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Report: Why did Aday Mara Decide to Leave UCLA?

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 3:23 PM ET

The UCLA Bruins lost their 7-3 sophomore center Aday Mara weeks ago to the transfer portal as he decided to join fellow Big Ten team, the Michigan Wolverines. A recent report provided answers as to why the budding star made the decision to leave.

Reported by Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, Mara spoke via FaceTime with Bolch, providing the long-awaited answers as to why he decided to leave Westwood. Mara was a strong rising piece for the Bruins this past season, and his departure was a puzzling move to many Bruin fans.

“It was a hard decision to leave UCLA,” Mara said, “because you saw every game — I was enjoying it, I was super happy because I saw all the crowd cheering for me, helping me a lot. Los Angeles is like a really, really good place, Westwood, so I’m going to miss that and I wanted to say that because it was a hard decision because it’s just after two years it feels like I spent a lot more time than two years, you know?”

Sentimental words from the Spain native as he genuinely enjoyed his two years in Los Angeles. When Mara mentioned that he felt like he "spent a lot more time than two years," that can be equated to his feeling of not quite growing at the pace that he expected as an incoming freshman.

Mara played in 33 games this past season, earning career-highs in almost every stat category. He averaged 6.4 points on 59% shooting with 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. His production grew throughout the season and was seemingly going to be UCLA's starting center next year.

Despite Mara shining in the final 20 games of the season, his own personal satisfaction with his play was not up to par. His breakout game came in late January, when he scored a career-high 22 points with five rebounds and two blocks against No. 18 Wisconsin.

Mara cited that game and the struggles that he had with his own production that led to his departure.

“I had expectations when I came here that I didn’t achieve,” Mara said. “Also, I think I felt like I was playing good, practicing good, practicing hard, you know, putting in extra work and until Wisconsin I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play, you know? And once [Cronin] gave me the opportunity, I saw — not a lot, but I saw what I could do, so those are the two reasons.”