Texas A&M forward Janiah Barker to transfer to UCLA

Janiah Barker, the No. 3-ranked prospect from the Class of 2022, has committed to UCLA out of the transfer portal, she announced on social media Tuesday.

Barker, a 6-foot-4 forward from Georgia, spent her first two seasons at Texas A&M, where she was the highest-ranked recruit in program history. She originally committed to Georgia, when current Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor was still at the helm there but followed Taylor to College Station.

Barker appeared in only 19 games as a freshman due to injury but was the only SEC rookie to lead her team in scoring (12.7 PPG), while also putting up 5.9 rebounds per game and earning SEC All-Freshman honors.

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Barker’s 12.2 points per game were tied for second on the Aggies, and she also averaged 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.

UCLA — which fell in the Sweet 16 to LSU this past NCAA tournament and finished 27-7 on the season — had an aggressive offseason in the transfer portal, also adding former Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker and Oregon State forward Timea Gardiner.

With forward Lauren Betts and guard Kiki Rice already on the team as rising juniors, coach Cori Close has ESPN HoopGurlz’s No. 1 (Betts), No. 2 (Rice), No. 3 (Barker) and No. 6 (Gardiner)-ranked recruits from the class of 2022 on her roster.

The Bruins — who are entering the Big Ten this upcoming season upon the disintegration of the Pac-12 — figure to be a top-two preseason favorite in their new league as they eye the program’s first NCAA Final Four appearance.