A big man prospect from Spain could be on the verge of joining the UCLA Bruins. According to Guillermo García of Relevo, 7-3 Aday Mara has been bought out by Spanish pro team, Casademont Zaragosa, as he plans to go to the US to play for an NCAA team, with UCLA basketball as among his top landing spots.

UCLA basketball is said to have been eyeing to lure Mara to the team for quite some time now.

Via Bruin Report Online:

“The Bruins staff has been recruiting Mara for months, having a connection to the prospect through UCLA assistant Ivo Simovic, who has deep connections to international recruiting and particularly Spain.”

Mara would be a tremendous addition if ever to UCLA basketball, a team that has been lots of noise since the start of the Mick Cronin era. The Bruins are coming off another solid run in the NCAA tournament, having reached the Sweet 16 round in the last edition of March Madness. Prior to that, UCLA basketball also made it to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and the Final Four in 2021.

At the moment, UCLA basketball has three commits for the 2023-24 season, composed of three 4-star talents.

Bruins Report Online also reported that apart from UCLA, the Duke Blue Devils and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are making strong pushes as well to land Mara. Although it does sound that Mara would eventually choose to suit up for UCLA basketball, the Bruins can expect the other programs to get more aggressive in trying to change Mara's course.