This post was updated on Nov. 2:17 a.m.
Elina Aarnisalo ran onto the Pauley Pavilion court for the last time during her freshman season March 23, 2025.
Over a year later, she made her return.
The junior guard announced her transfer to No. 11 UCLA women’s basketball in April 2026 after spending her sophomore campaign at UNC – a year after playing for the Bruins in her first collegiate season.
“I used to joke that she’s the one that broke my heart the most, but she’s also the one that, if she ever wanted to come back, I’d consider,” coach Cori Close said. “I never thought it would happen. In my 34 years of coaching, I’ve never seen that happen before.”
Aarnisalo opened her freshman year at UCLA with seven straight starts while former Westwood guard Kiki Rice recovered from an injury. Through these games, she averaged 10.3 points and 6.6 assists in 26.7 minutes per game, and saw six games with 25-plus minutes.
After these opening seven matches, though, her playing time decreased, reaching the 25-minute mark in just seven of the remaining 30 games. She saw another brief three-game starting stint, where she never reached more than six points a game, before coming off the bench for the rest of the season.
She ended her freshman campaign averaging 5.1 points and 3.4 assists in 20 minutes per game, all of which were the highest of her four-freshman cohort.
During the team’s first year in the new conference, the 2024-25 Bruins captured the Big Ten tournament title and entered March Madness as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history. But a blowout loss to UConn in the Final Four – UCLA’s first appearance in the March Madness era – put a damper on a historic season.
Six of Close’s players entered the transfer portal, including Aarnisalo’s entire freshmen class. UCLA was returning four of its five consistent starters, alongside former guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who had redshirted the 2024-25 season to recover from an ACL tear.
“(We) had so many great players on the team, but knowing Charlisse (Leger-Walker) was coming back and knowing we’re going to have six or seven seniors on the team,” Aarnisalo said. “It would affect my minutes too, and everybody on the team, and just finding that role would look different than it did my freshman year.”
Aarnisalo moved to North Carolina, where she was able to take on a bigger role. Through her sophomore season, the Helsinki, Finland, local doubled her scoring while also boosting her efficiency.
She averaged 10.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in her 26.8 minutes per game on 47.3/40.4/76.1 splits – jumps in all but the free throw clip. Aarnisalo recorded 26 starts with the Tar Heels, including through the final 12 games.
The former Bruin was the only Tar Heel last season to post multiple 20-point outings, recording all three through the final seven games. In that same frame – which included the final games of the regular season alongside the ACC and NCAA Tournament – she averaged 15.3 points per game and knocked down 13 shots from behind the arc.
A loss to UConn, this time in the Sweet Sixteen, concluded her time at Chapel Hill, as she announced her commitment to Close’s program – for the second time in three years – in April, exactly a week after UCLA won its first national championship in program history.
“I knew the standards Coach Cori holds here – the player development is amazing,” Aarnisalo said. “UCLA is a great program academically and basketball-wise. So that was something that had my attention. UNC is also a great program, but knowing that they (UCLA) had six or seven seniors leaving, so there’s a lot of empty spots on the roster.”
Before 2024, this move would not have been possible. But with the transfer portal rules consistently changing, Aarnisalo was able to return to Westwood.
UCLA’s roster consists of five returners, five transfers and two freshmen, with everyone taking on different roles from prior seasons. Coming in as a transfer who already knows the Bruin way has proved to be helpful for Close and for a meshing UCLA squad.
“She’s not a new player,” Close said. “I believe in E (Aarnisalo). She’s got elite vision, elite work ethic. She’s really athletic. She’s a creative finisher. … But I’m in part excited about this group growing into championship standards in part because she’s back.”
Aarnisalo is also one of six international players on the Bruins’ roster this season, five of whom hail from Europe, including both freshmen – guard Somto Okafor from Barcelona, Spain, and guard Lena Jerković from Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia.
UCLA’s draw toward international students also factored into Aarnisalo’s decision to commit to the team both times. When she committed her freshman year, she said she was able to talk to two of the international players on the 2023-24 roster. But entering this season, the appeal was heightened.
“When I heard that we might have half our team as internationals, (it) really excited me,” Aarnisalo said. “Not because Americans aren’t great or anything, but it’s different, and we share different experiences with the internationals. Having other people too whose first language is not English (means) there are other people maybe struggling with a paper or something with some school assignments. It kind of helps in everyday life.”
Now in her junior campaign, Aarnisalo has the opportunity to move up a level once more. With the Bruins’ six leading scorers from last year having graduated, UCLA needs people to step up, and Aarnisalo is in a position to do that.
She led the squad in scoring through both of the exhibition games, dropping 33 total points on a combined 12-for-25 shooting from the field, including 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Her ability to facilitate was also put on display, dishing out 10 assists throughout the matchups.
And on Monday, when she represented the blue and gold at Pauley Pavilion for the first time since March 2025, she helped the reigning national champions capture their first win of the new season.
“We were so close her freshman year, and I was heartbroken when she left,” said senior forward Amanda Muse, who played with Aarnisalo in the 2024-25 season. “It’s really huge for our team because she can do it all. She can score, she can defend and she can facilitate. So it’s just great that we have her.”
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