UCLA’s Donovan Dent retires from basketball

May 25, 2026 - 01:00

UCLA basketball witnessed Donovan Dent fight off injuries before embarking on his pro career. But that chapter became truncated as of Sunday. Dent’s 2026 March Madness run with the Bruins now becomes his final roundball appearance in officially retiring.

Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal confirmed the sudden change of heart from Dent Sunday.

“I’m done with pro basketball,” Dent told the Journal. “I want to give back to the youth and I want to start training.”

Dent won’t accept a G-League contract if it comes. Nor does he want any overseas contracts. He believes he’s made his final shot on the hardwood.

Dent never played his entire career in Westwood. He arrived to UCLA as a prized College Basketball Transfer Portal addition via New Mexico. He thrived with the Lobos too, earning multiple All-Mountain West Conference honors. Lobo fans remember him for winning the MWC Player of the Year after the 2024-25 season. He delivered 20.4 points per game that season while playing for former head coach Richard Pitino.

He settled for a lesser scoring role under Bruins head coach Mick Cronin. Yet Dent showed some defensive mettle, hitting a career-best 1.7 steals per game. Dent proved to be a strong distributor too, averaging 7.6 assists per game in Cronin’s system. Finally, he grabbed 2.9 rebounds per contest which rose as one more personal best.

Dent installed new endeavors before making his retirement decision official. He created new Pop-up Clinics as basketball skills camps. He’s also involved with the AAU circuit as a coach there.

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