Four-Star UCLA Commit Trending Towards Flip

While Gooden hasn't decommitted from the program, he has been listening to what other programs have to offer throughout the fall, taking official visits with Vanderbilt and Tennessee in the last two weeks. 

His trip to Knoxville with the Volunteers came this past weekend, and afterward, he spoke with Volquest's Matt Ray. Gooden explained that his visit with Tennessee allowed him to see what the program had to offer, and that they are firmly in the race to land him.

• “It [Tennessee] is a great option,” Gooden told Ray. “It definitely helped because I hadn’t been here before, so I didn’t know what to think about it. It put them in the race now as well, and now I am looking at all of these schools because I have seen them all in person. I have seen them all one time and just to see how they are different.”

Although Gooden remains committed to the Bruins for now, Ray reported that he will ultimately decide on Wednesday and that he's down to UCLA, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.

• "He is now working on a short timeline to make a final decision in the coming days, as he plans to announce something on Wednesday," Ray wrote. "UCLA, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are the three finalists for him currently."

Gooden is the highest-rated commit in UCLA's 2026 class, according to Rivals' industry rankings, which list him as the No. 142 overall player nationally, the No. 16 defensive lineman, and the No. 1 prospect from Massachusetts.

Losing him would be a significant setback for the Bruins and could put them in a difficult position during the Early National Signing period. It's challenging to retain talent without a permanent head coach, and since UCLA hasn't hired one yet, Gooden's potential departure from the program is becoming increasingly likely.