This post was updated May 26 at 10:50 p.m.
While every season celebrates its star, it also gives rise to unexpected standouts. Whether through breakout performances or quiet consistency, several Bruins made the leap from role players to program cornerstones. In this edition of Battle of the Editors, Daily Bruin Sports editors debate which athlete’s emergence made the biggest difference for their team.
Aday Mara, Men’s basketball
Ira Gorawara, Sports editor
At first, Aday Mara was just another moving part. A tall cog in UCLA’s clunky machine.
But by late January, the Bruins didn’t just run with their big man.
They ran because of him. He held the system together and made things go.
Through the first 17 games of the 2024-2025 season, Mara didn’t play more than 20 minutes a game. He averaged just 9.2 minutes and was a matchup piece – a 7-foot-3 question mark slotted in for spot minutes and rim protection. The talent was there, yet the leash was short.
But when UCLA faced Wisconsin on Jan. 21, Mara finally got the runway – tasked to stifle the Badgers’ duo of 7-foot forwards in Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter. Handed 21 minutes, Mara responded with a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, tallied five rebounds and collected 22 points in his team’s two-point escape.
It might’ve been the first night he proved himself to not just fill a gap, but shift the ceiling. From that point on, the question wasn’t how to use Mara but instead how coach Mick Cronin didn’t.
Mara then stitched together a resume of unexpected brilliance and resilience. He earned seven more games of at least 20 minutes – arguably far too few for what he was capable of – and made his case louder in each outing. In the games Mara played at least 15 minutes, UCLA went 10-1.
More Mara became synonymous with more wins.
No one else at UCLA made the jump Mara did – from inconsistently cracking the rotation to becoming a player Cronin couldn’t afford to bench. And though his season-ending statistics may not show it, Mara shifted games in real time with his ability to alter shots, clean the glass and finish everything around the rim.
And I’ve never heard Pauley Pavilion erupt louder for anyone else.
That’s what makes his departure to Michigan all the more painful – just as he became indispensable, he was gone.
Emon van Loben Sels, Men’s tennis
Kai Dizon, assistant Sports editor
Emon van Loben Sels played just eight singles matches during the 2024 dual-match season, all exclusively on the back courts.
And the redshirt sophomore began 2025 in similar territory, playing his first four singles matches on court four despite earning his first NCAA singles qualification that fall.
But a freshman-heavy front court needed stability – especially after sophomore Spencer Johnson went down with injury.
So van Loben Sels graced court two for the first time in his collegiate career Feb. 2, and would hold down the spot from April 4 on.
After going 3-3 in dual match singles contests in 2024, van Loben Sels went 14-4 in 2025.
The redshirt sophomore’s season highlight undoubtedly came in Columbus, Ohio, when he – later named the tournament’s most outstanding player – knocked off Ohio State’s then-No. 62 Alexander Bernard to secure UCLA its first Big Ten tournament title and hand the Buckeyes their first home conference loss in 22 years.
His success carried into doubles, improving to 19-7 in dual matches compared to 12-6 the year prior.
And in singles, van Loben Sels lost just four times in 2025 and was the only Bruin to pick up a point against then-No. 3 Texas, defeating then-No. 26 Sebastian Gorzny.
While UCLA men’s tennis should be returning many familiar faces, van Loben Sels looks positioned to remain on the top courts after his stellar redshirt sophomore campaign.
Brooklyn Moors, Gymnastics
Aaron Doyle, assistant Sports editor
A knee injury relegated Brooklyn Moors to the sidelines for all but three meets in 2023.
The then-sophomore made her season debut at the NCAA regionals in April, but closed the year with her lowest scores of 2023 in the NCAA semifinals as UCLA gymnastics failed to reach the national final.
Fast forward to 2025, and the graduate student was crowned the national floor champion – the 10th Bruin to be named the country’s best on the event. Less than four weeks prior, Moors had earned her first perfect 10 at the Big Ten championships to tie for the floor title alongside junior Jordan Chiles.
Moors began to rebuild her confidence during her junior season and found a spot as a regular in UCLA’s floor lineup. But with a brand new combination tumbling pass to begin her floor routine, Moors struggled to stay in bounds and scored a 9.800 or lower four times in 2024.
After completing her first fully healthy preseason, Moors penned a new chapter for herself in 2025. She set herself apart with her artistic expression and dynamic tumbling, and she scored at least a 9.900 in every single floor routine to earn the first All-American honors of her career.
Moors also became a key piece of UCLA’s vault and beam lineups in 2025. She competed on vault and floor in every meet and appeared on beam 11 times, providing valuable depth across all three events.
While Moors has an impressive resume – one that includes three trips to the World Championships and one to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – her breakthrough year was nationally recognized. College Gym News named Moors a co-Breakout Athlete of the Year in 2025, awarded to gymnasts who were successful during the season after competing in zero to two events to start their careers.
Moors has proven herself a champion time and time again. And despite a career riddled with injury, she clawed back to end her gymnastics career on the highest note – as an NCAA national champion.
Philip Naef, Men’s soccer
Connor Dullinger, assistant Sports editor
Philip Naef played in just 10 games in 2023 – eclipsing 30 minutes just once.
And after not playing a single minute in the first game of 2024 – and not logging more than 40 minutes until Sept. 9 – it looked like the defender’s sophomore campaign might mirror his freshman year.
However, after Naef assisted UCLA’s only goal in its 4-1 defeat to Wisconsin on Sept. 16, it seemed difficult for coach Ryan Jorden to keep him off the pitch.
With relentless pursuit and indomitable endurance, Naef was the crux of the Bruins’ right side of their formation, serving as a pacy, aggressive right back when needed but mostly playing as a right winger that took advantage of open space.
Naef’s motor and technical foot skills allowed him to take the endline and slot the ball back across the 18-yard box, where he made his presence known as an elite playmaker.
In 2023, he finished with zero goals and zero assists. However, 2024 couldn’t be more different.
The season’s team leader in assists found himself in two separate three-game assist streaks and posted a goal and four assists in UCLA’s 6-0 victory over Maryland in the Big Ten quarterfinal.
Naef also played eight consecutive games with at least 45 minutes and logged more than 60 in the Bruins’ Big Ten semifinal defeat and NCAA first-round loss.
Despite playing most of the season as a super-sub, he could see a starting or expanded role in 2025 after a breakout sophomore campaign.
Janiah Barker, Women’s basketball
Sabrina Messiha, assistant Sports editor
The Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year won’t return to Westwood next season, but her impact on the squad is exactly what earned her the award.
Junior forward Janiah Barker brought the grit and effort that UCLA needed in its historic journey to the Final Four. Despite not being a starter, Barker jumped right into play and was all around the court throughout her one season at UCLA.
Before her transfer, she started in 27 of 30 games in her sophomore campaign at Texas A&M. However, as a Bruin, she started in just three of 36.
The 6-foot-4 center posted 7.4 points, six rebounds and 1.4 assists, all while averaging 17.5 minutes per game. She often entered the game in place of graduate student Angela Dugalić, who will be taking a fifth year after a COVID-19 year and redshirting for an injury.
Barker was one of the few Bruins who could be seen crashing boards and diving for out-of-bounds balls. She was the engine the Bruins seemingly needed after being knocked out in the Sweet 16 during the 2023-2024 campaign.
Her efforts and competitive drive helped earn the team its first No. 1 overall seed in UCLA history and its first Final Four berth in the NCAA era. While she may not have been a leader in terms of statistics and playing time, her competitive nature made her a cornerstone of the Bruin bench and earned her the Big Ten accolade.
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