The transfer portal often brings a handful of surprises every season, but none of them can possibly match Elina Aarnisalo’s latest move. The junior guard recently announced she’s returning to UCLA for the upcoming season. She tipped off her career there in 2024-25 and then spent an impressive lone season at UNC in 2025-26 after transferring only to return to Los Angeles, prompting a puzzling reaction from the hoops community.

The Athletic’s college basketball journalist, Ira Gorawara, confirmed this move on her X handle, stating that Aarnisalo had a do-not-contact tag in the transfer portal.

Elina Aarnisalo made quite a name for herself in her freshman season with the Bruins. She was mainly used as a role player off the bench. But even then, she impressed immensely with her performances. On the offensive front, she was quite a formidable shooter, scoring 43.75% from the field. Meanwhile, she dictated the play quite well, too, recording 3.4 assists per game in the season.

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Despite this strong campaign in limited opportunities, Aarnisalo was in the transfer portal last year. And subsequently, she moved further south to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Her ceiling expanded further at the Tar Heels. With UNC, Aarnisalo made a Sweet 16 run at the March Madness before losing out to the UConn Huskies last season. Throughout the tournament, she had some great performances, including a 21-point game in the tournament’s second round against Maryland.

Just a couple of days after the strong campaign, she was back in the transfer portal, awaiting another home. This time, the road to her home was quite familiar to her as she returned to UCLA yet again. But even before the comeback materializes at UCLA, the program’s fan base has begun rallying against the Finnish native and her return to Los Angeles.

Confusion, Anger, and Curiosity Revolve Around Elina Aarnisalo’s Move to UCLA

“This is crazy … left UCLA presumably for bigger role. Got that at UNC, numbers improved across the board, key piece on Sweet 16 team, and leaves for the school she just left a year ago. Sheesh,” wrote a fan. 

“None of this portal mess makes sense,” remarked another. 

What ought to have been a full-circle moment for Aarnisalo was seen as a crazy decision by several fans, including this one. And the striking part is that these assessments can’t even be ignored. Upon her move to the UNC, Aarnisalo became a regular starter from a bench player at the Bruins. Most of her metrics improved during that short spell at North Carolina.

Her scoring went up from 5.1 to 10.2, rebounding went up from 2.2 to 3.4. In short, her overall ceiling in the game rose during her spell at UNC. As a result, Aarnisalo’s decision to transfer from North Carolina to find a way back home is causing considerable confusion. But this decision does have some substance as well.

“Kinda like a relationship, they didn’t break up, just needed some space, now back together, haha,” summed up another. 

The timeline here is very important to understand. When Elina Aarnisalo entered the commitment portal last year, Charlisse Leger-Walker, an experienced Washington guard, was coming back to the UCLA active roster after an ACL surgery. As a result, it was quite predictable that Aarnisalo wouldn’t play many minutes as a starter. But the situation in the upcoming season is immensely contrasting.

The Bruins just have two returning guards for next season: freshmen Christina Karamouzi and Lena Bilic, as all of the other senior guards have left. As a result, Aarnisalo can quickly turn into the program’s starting guard, courtesy of her experience in the circuit. Thus, Aarnisalo’s decision might be taken in haste, but it’s not without a plan.

“Knew as soon as the “do not contact” tag was announced that she was trying to come back. Kinda wish Close had said “no,” wrote another fan. 

Even before she made that commitment post on her Instagram, she had already given it away, entering the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag. By definition, it means a player doesn’t want any team or coach to contact her. It indicates that she wants to handle her recruiting in her own way. But it can also mean she had a specific destination in mind, which, in Aarnisalo’s case, is the UCLA Bruins.

But this high-profile comeback hasn’t been well received by die-hard Bruins fans, who felt that head coach Cori Close should have denied the transfer. Notably, Close had a very close bond with Aarnisalo. The Bruins coach heaped immense praise on her after she committed to the program ahead of her freshman season. Even in the 2025-26 season, when UCLA faced North Carolina, Close had some kind words for her former guard.

“I can’t believe I left it in the hotel, but I wrote her a note today. I just think she’s such a quality individual,” Close had said. “She’s a great player, she’s an excellent person, she’s got a fun personality, and she was an elite teammate.” All in all, fans might be a bit enraged with the comeback. But there’s no doubt over the skill set she brings to the table for the Bruins.

“Why would UCLA even take her back? They had a nice homegrown team that won the national championship, and now it seems they’re committed to doing the opposite of that to build their next team,” stated a fan. 

Of course, the 2025-26 UCLA was generational and a fable-worthy team, just for its sheer dominance. But it must be noted that all the major starters on the team that won the March Madness, including Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, and Gianna Kneepkens, are departing after their collegiate eligibility ends.

The team is in a major rebuilding phase that will need quite a large number of reinforcements. And the return of a former Bruin like Elina Aarnisalo boosts the program immensely, irrespective of her being a Finnish native.

All in all, despite the anger over the move, UCLA will ultimately benefit the most. While the homecoming received some mixed reaction on social media, it will be interesting to see how the comeback turns out on the court. What’s your say on Elina Aarnisalo’s return? Do let us know in the comments.