Four-Star Prospect on Being Offered By ‘Dream School’ UCLA
In a never-ending quest to improve the program, Mick Cronin and his staff made an offer to the 23rd ranked player in the 2026 class, Cameron Holmes.
And he may have already given up a little leverage.
âMy favorite growing up was always UCLA. That was my dream school, and they just offered me last night,â he revealed to 247Sports.
Basketball is already in his blood, with his older brother being DaRon, who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets this past offseason, but ultimately tore his Achilles in his Summer League debut.
Cameron is a different breed from his brother though. Heâs a 6-foot-5 guard who thrives in transition and with the ball in his hands.
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports wrote in December that heâs continuing to develop his game, and even developing his shot.
âHe was showing clear signs of shooting progression over the summer, and that has continued into the season, as heâs a threat to make threes, pull-ups, and even an occasional tough shot, with a much more fluid release than we saw when he was younger.â
In his showing at the Section 7 Tournament, Holmes had one of the better showings, essentially cementing himself as a top-15 prospect in the 2026 class.
He showed many of the traits that Finkelstein discussed in December. His shot, both mid-range and long-range, looked tremendously smooth with an aptitude to pull up from the elbow.
Not only that, his ability to generate scoring chances in isolation was impressive. One of the knocks of his game was his ball-handling, but it didnât seem to be a hindrance while dribbling through defenses.
He did take a lot of contested shots that looked rather uncomfortable, however. Whether it was in transition or iso, instead of kicking it out to his teammates for a better play, he took the shot himself, when it seemed like it was no longer an option.
To his credit, though, he drained them with no problem, but it may not be as easy at the next level.
The natural progression has definitely been a welcoming sight to coaches and scouts across the NCAA, but he will need to be better in decision-making.
Of course, in this landscape of college sports, anything is possible with NIL. Even though donning the blue and gold was his dream, that hasnât stopped other schools from attempting to win his services.
On May 21, he already had an official visit with Oregon, and itâs expected that Arizona, North Carolina, and USC will be in the running.
Arizona may be the biggest hurdle for the Bruins. The Goodyear, AZ native will most likely be aggressively recruited by the Wildcats, in an effort to keep him in state.
Regardless, Holmes is a canât-miss player who has all the intangibles to be a cornerstone for a collegiate program, and eventually in the NBA.
The door is certainly open for Holmes to develop into a two-way player like a Khris Middleton or a Scottie Barnes, and UCLA, being his dream school, may be the perfect place to do it.
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