LOS ANGELES — UCLA senior guard Skyy Clark has entered the transfer portal, multiple sources have confirmed to the Southern California News Group.
Clark played at UCLA for the past two seasons after transferring from Louisville and playing his freshman season at Illinois prior to that. With a total of four years in college, he filed for a fifth year of eligibility.
It was originally expected he would remain with UCLA if that fifth year were granted.
“It wouldn’t be like he was trying to get another year to go somewhere else,” one source close to Clark told the SCNG on March 10. “He’d get another year to stay at UCLA, with the idea to be under (Coach, Mick) Cronin again.”
But with ambiguity of the timeline on Clark’s eligibility decision and the men’s basketball college transfer portal officially opening Tuesday, both parties were in a difficult position.
Ultimately, each prioritized itself, as Clark and UCLA will go in opposite directions.
“He wanted us to guarantee his spot and his money, and we can’t do that while we’re waiting for his ruling,” a source close to UCLA told the SCNG on Tuesday.
Clark and Cronin have a positive relationship and the UCLA head coach wanted him back, a source confirmed, but situations change rapidly with the transfer portal, and the Bruins couldn’t risk falling behind in building their roster while awaiting Clark’s eligibility ruling.
With Clark out of the picture, UCLA officially went 5 for 6 in retaining its eligible returning players. Now the Bruins will move forward with their top priority being to add guards to play alongside Trent Perry, and another quality wing and center.
Before college, Clark played two seasons at Heritage Christian High in Northridge, then at Ensworth High in Nashville and finished at Montverde High in Florida.
He will attempt to play with his fourth college program in five seasons. The central part of his argument is that he played 13 games – just above the NCAA’s 30% threshold needed for a medical redshirt – as a freshman at Illinois before leaving the team for “familial health” reasons, involving his father Kenny Clark, who died in May 2025.
Clark began to consider the potential of obtaining a fifth year of eligibility prior to this season, a source said. He then played 26 games for UCLA, missing 10 contests because of a hamstring injury.
The 6-foot-3 Los Angeles native averaged 11.5 points, on 46.9% shooting, with 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He had a memorable moment in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, losing a tooth during a scramble for the ball and staying in the game during the Bruins’ 75-71 victory over Central Florida. UCLA’s season came to an end in the second round, 73-57, at the hands of eventual NCAA runner-up UConn.
Clark participated in UCLA’s Senior Night festivities, walking the sideline with his family before shaking Cronin’s hand. If his fifth year of eligibility is granted, that experience will have been a formality, as he will conclude his college career with another program.
