Two UCLA transfers were once freshmen at Michigan State

The transfer portal has student athletes take different paths but this is a unique journey of two individuals who will be playing in Westwood for basketball next season.

Xavier Booker played high school basketball in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was ranked a top 12 national recruit out of high school.

Steven Jamerson II had a much different path to UCLA as he was not a ranked high school recruit and his freshman year of college, he did not play basketball at the collegiate level.

Here now are their different paths from being freshmen at Michigan State University to being committed to being a student athlete at UCLA for the next school year.

Xavier Booker committed to Michigan State on July 30, 2022.

He moved to East Lansing to begin his collegiate career on May 30, 2023.

In his freshman year at Michigan State, Xavier Booker played in 27 games and only played just over nine minutes a game and averaged just under four points per game.

Steven Jamerson II had a much different journey and according to Ben Bolch of the LA Times, who in one of his articles wrote the following.

"(He) was the last player to make his freshman team before being lightly recruited out of high school and spending his freshman year as a student at Michigan State without being a member of the basketball team. He then transferred to San Diego, where he became a part-time starter in his first season."

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times

Here is a social media post from April of 2022 from him.

Finally, Steven Jamerson was not granted the opportunity to try out for the Michigan State basketball team his freshman year and was not selected to be one of the student managers for the team.

Xavier Booker's path to Westwood to play for the Bruins.

In his sophomore year, Booker did not make the jump from his freshman to sophomore year that many were expecting. He only played 12.8 minutes per game this past season and averaged 4.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game. However, he looks to play more and even start for UCLA for his junior season.

This is Steven Jamerson II path to play for UCLA for the 2025-2026 season.

He began his collegiate basketball career for the 2022-23 season as a member of the University of San Diego basketball team. In his first season with the Toreros, he played just over 15 minutes per game, and his on-court production continued to increase these past two seasons. This past season, he averaged 10 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game.

He will look to take his game to the next level playing for UCLA for this upcoming season.

They started their college academic careers at Michigan State University but are now on the path to graduating and playing basketball at UCLA.