Where Are These UCLA Transfers Playing This Season? Part 1

The 2025 college football season is nigh, and UCLA is entering the year with high hopes following a start-studded transfer class headlined by Nico Iamaleava.

Much like every program in Division I college football nowadays, the Bruins also lost some talent to the transfer portal. Finishing its first season in the Big Ten with a 5-7 record and poised to come in looking better next season, let's take a look at the talent that UCLA lost this season.

J.Michael Sturdivant, WR, Florida Gators

Sturdivant transferred to Florida on Dec. 19, 2024, just nine days after entering the transfer portal. The rising redshirt senior played two seasons for the Bruins after starting his career at Cal for two season.

He played 40 games across his collegiate career and has made 30 starts in those four seasons. He has a total of 123 receptions for 1,667 receiving yards for 13 touchdowns. In 2024, with UCLA, Sturdivant played in 11 of the 12 games, starting in eight of them, and caught 22 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns.

Sturdivant entered the portal as a four-star, 91-rated transfer according to 247Sports; the 25th-ranked wide receiver in the portal. Who's to say if the former Bruin would have left if he had known of Iamaleava's arrival? Regardless, UCLA spent considerable time replacing the dynamic wide receiver by bringing in a plethora of others, including Kaedin Robinson, who may not even play this season.

Braden Pegan, WR, Utah State Aggies

Pegan entered the portal on Dec. 9 and committed to the Aggies on Jan. 1. The rising redshirt junior played three seasons with UCLA, coming in in 2022. Over his career with the Bruins, he played in just 13 games, starting in one. He totaled just one catch in 2023 against Boise State in the LA Bowl.

Pegan didn't see the field last season, but in 2022, he appeared in four games and didn't make a single catch. This, on paper, wasn't a huge loss for the Bruins.

Clint Stephens, S, New Mexico Lobos

Stephens is another minimal loss for UCLA in the transfer portal. Who would I be putting the most important transfers all in the first part of the series? Trust me, the bigger losses are coming in future parts. Anyways.

Stephens entered the portal on Dec. 3 and committed to the Lobos over a month later, on Jan. 13. The rising redshirt junior played in just two games over three seasons in Westwood. In 2022, his true freshman season, he played against Alabama State and recorded two tackles, and in 2023, he played against North Carolina Central and recorded two solo tackles. Again, not a huge loss considereing the additions in the transfer portal.