Former Utah Utes women’s basketball star Gianna Kneepkens is a national champion.
On Sunday, the UCLA Bruins ran past the South Carolina Gamecocks 79-51 to win the NCAA women’s basketball national championship, and Kneepkens played a big role.
The senior transfer started and played 26 minutes, scoring 15 points to go along with four assists, a rebound, a steal and a block as the Bruins seized control early and never looked back in the rout.
Kneepkens scored the second-most points of any player Sunday, behind only teammate Gabriela Jaquez.
Her performance capped a fantastic senior season for Kneepkens after she transferred to UCLA last spring. The native of Duluth, Minnesota appeared in 37 of the Bruins’ 38 games with 36 starts and averaged 12.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
The 2025-26 campaign came after Kneepkens starred for three seasons as a Ute after an illustrious high school career (she missed most of her junior year at Utah because of injury). In all, Kneepkens finished her collegiate career averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a steal per game.
The 6-foot Kneepkens will now turn her attention to the 2026 WNBA Draft to be held next Monday, where she is widely projected to be a top 10 pick overall.