| No. 8–UCLA Bruins | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | March 4, 2003 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Marshall School (Duluth, Minnesota) | ||||||||||||||
| College | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Gianna Kneepkens (born March 4, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Big Ten Conference. She previously played for Utah.
Gianna Kneepkens was born in Duluth, Minnesota [1] to Donald and Betsy Kneepkens. [2] The youngest of six siblings, Kneepkens grew up playing basketball against her five older brothers. [3] She played for Marshall School in Duluth. As a varsity starter beginning in eighth grade, Kneepkens helped her team to two consecutive Minnesota State Tournament appearances. [4] In her final high school game, Kneepkens scored 67 points, an all-time state record. [4] She was named 2021 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, joining Paige Bueckers who won the award the year before. [4] During her high school career, Kneepkens scored 3,704 points, which ranked fourth all-time in Minnesota state history at the time. [4] She ultimately committed to playing college basketball for Utah. [5]
Kneepkens made her debut for the Utes on November 10, 2021, against Lipscomb University. She later earned a starting role after coming off the bench and scoring 29 points against in-state rival BYU on December 4, 2021. [6] During the season, Kneepkens went on to average 11.8 points per game, shooting 38.4% from the 3-point line and 87.1% from the free-throw line. [2] Kneepkens was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, named to the All-Pac-12 team, and given Pac-12 All-Freshman honors. [2]
During her sophomore campaign, Kneepkens continued to see success, starting in every game and scoring an average of 15.3 points per game. [2] She helped lead her team to a second consecutive NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance. The Utes advanced to the Sweet 16 where Kneepkens scored a team-high 20 points in a loss to eventual NCAA champion LSU on March 24, 2023. [7] She was again named to the All-Pac-12 team and was named a WBCA Coaches' Honorable Mention All-American. [2]
Just prior to her third season, she was named a Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference selection. [8] She started in 8 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. She averaged 17.8 points per game, shooting a career-high 63.3% from the field and 54.0% from the 3-point line. She also reached 1,000 career points in just 62 games. She was granted a redshirt season by the NCAA for her injury. [8]
Prior to her redshirt junior year (2024–2025), she was named to the Naismith Trophy Women's Player of the Year Watch List. [9] She returned to play November 4, 2024, scoring a team-high 18 points against Southern Utah. [10]
On January 22, 2025, she posted a career high of 30 points, almost achieving a triple double with 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while shooting 66.7% from the field and setting a career high six 3-pointers (54.5%) in a 79-61 win over Kansas. [11] In the same week against school rival’s BYU, she set a new career high of 32 points, making six 3-point shots (85.7%) and recording eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals, leading the team to an 81-76 victory. [12] Based on these performances, she earned Big 12 women's basketball Player of the Week. [13]
Kneepkens finished the regular season as a member of the 50–40–90 club, shooting 51.3% from the field, 45.3% from three-point range, and 90.5% from the free-throw line in 29 games, a feat achieved by only five players at the Power Four level. [14] She was ultimately named First-team All-Big 12 and the 2025 Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Following the conclusion of the 2024–2025 season, Kneepkens announced she was entering into the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. She was noted as one of the top transfer prospects in the nation, making official visits to Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA. [15]
On May 1, 2025, Kneepkens announced she would transfer to UCLA for her final year of eligibility. [16]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Utah | 33 | 25 | 23.7 | 44.6 | 38.4 | 87.1 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 11.8 |
| 2022–23 | Utah | 32 | 32 | 28.3 | 49.8 | 42.3 | 83.1 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 15.3 |
| 2023–24 | Utah | 8 | 8 | 25.1 | 63.3 | 54.0 | 78.9 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 17.8 |
| 2024–25 | Utah | 31 | 31 | 30.1 | 50.4 | 44.8° | 89.0° | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 19.3 |
| Career | 104 | 96 | 27.1 | 49.5 | 43.2 | 86.0 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 15.6 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference. [17] | |||||||||||||
In 2023 and 2025, Kneepkens attended Kelsey Plum's Dawg Class, an Under Armour-sponsored camp to help top women college athletes transition from collegiate to professional basketball. [18]
