Michigan basketball has landed its fourth transfer of the offseason. Former UCLA center Aday Mara has announced his commitment to Dusty May and the Wolverines. Mara, an unranked recruit from Zaragoza, Spain, just completed his sophomore season with the UCLA Bruins.
After not seeing much playing time with the Bruins two seasons into his collegiate career, Mara entered the Transfer Portal on April 1. At 7-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Mara will almost certainly be the tallest player on the court whenever he is on the floor.
As a freshman with UCLA in 2023-24, Mara scored 3.5 points per game and registered 1.9 rebounds per contest in 9.5 minutes. The international center played in 28 of UCLA's 33 games that season, starting in eight of those contests.
Mara took a minor leap from his freshman to sophomore season. This season with the Bruins, playing under head coach Mick Cronin, Mara was a 6.4-point-per-game scorer in 2024-25, and he also hauled in 4.0 rebounds per game in 13 minutes of action per contest. He played in 33 of UCLA's 34 games this season, logging one start.
The 7-foot-3 big man battled injuries throughout his two-year career with UCLA. Cronin was reluctant to play Mara at times this season due to conditioning issues that were caused by a norovirus illness that many Bruins players battled in early February.
Mara becomes the fourth addition Michigan makes to its 2025-26 roster through the Transfer Portal this offseason. The former UCLA Bruin will join Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB) in Michigan's Transfer Portal class.
It's likely that Mara will play in a backup center role to Johnson Jr.
Of course, Michigan is awaiting the NBA Draft decision of Lendeborg, who has made it clear he wants to pursue a professional contract with an NBA squad. Should Michigan lose Lendeborg, it will likely need to continue shopping for more front-court help before May's Transfer Portal pursuits conclude.
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