LOS ANGELES — UCLA guard David Singleton is returning to the Bruins for a fifth year, while center Myles Johnson is leaving the team to pursue his electrical engineering degree.
Both players announced their plans on social media on Thursday.
Singleton uses an extra year the eligibility that the NCAA has granted to athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The opportunity to play once more for this great institution, to represent the four letters, to go down in history is an opportunity I just can’t pass up,” he wrote. “It’s another chance at the Big Dance. See you again in Pauley next season.”
Singleton averaged 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 33 games. He led the Bruins in 3-point shooting with 45% and often provided an emotional spark off the bench.
“David has been a huge mover for the past four seasons and his return is a huge boost for us,” said coach Mick Cronin.
Johnson decided not to use a fifth season of the eligibility and is instead concentrating on completing the second year of his master’s program. He averaged 3.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in all 35 games including 15 starts last season as a redshirt senior.
He transferred to UCLA last year after earning a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers.
“As the paths of my other passions in engineering and philanthropy have come to the fore, I have decided to continue these endeavors,” Johnson wrote. “They are just as significant in my life.”
Guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. has already said he will return next season, and guard Tyger Campbell is also expected.
The Bruins have three highly acclaimed recruits this fall: guards Dylan Andrews and Amari Bailey, and forward Adem Bona.
Guards Johnny Juzang and Peyton Watson declared themselves for the NBA draft and hired agents. Guard Jules Bernard also declared himself in favor of the draft, but did not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to Westwood. Guard Jake Kyman is transferred.
UCLA doesn’t expect center Cody Riley to come back for a sixth season. The redshirt senior from Kansas City, Kansas, averaged 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while starting in 20 of the 26 games he appeared in last season.
Riley had his first season suspended after being arrested for shoplifting during a team trip to China along with LiAngelo Ball and Jalen Hill. Riley had his best season as a junior, averaging 10 points and starting all 31 games in the Bruins’ run to the Final Four.