Many have said the FIFA World Cup brings people together. The power of the soccer ball shows in how fanbases from different countries have shown up. But for UCLA football, the Bruins turned to the World Cup for another reason: Landing an impactful offseason move on the recruiting trail.
One that rose on Tuesday morning.
Head coach Bob Chesney, his coaching staff plus one prized recruit in Khalil Terry brilliantly used the World Cup to their advantage per On3/Rivals. They turned to a watch party that lured one prominent talent over.
And thanks to the world’s biggest soccer spectacle, the Bruins pulled off a massive offseason move to close out June.
World Cup Party Leads to New UCLA Commit
Four-star safety Myles Baker flipped from California-Berkeley and instead joins the other school within the University of California (UC) system.
National recruiting insider for On3/Rivals Adam Gorney pulled back the curtain on how Baker’s flip really happened. Turns out watching soccer on TV helped lead into Baker’s decision.
“The UCLA coaching staff also made a promise: They’re not going to give him the hard sell and spend the entire weekend recruiting him,” Gorney began. “They just wanted him to hang out with the players and all the other recruits, watch some World Cup and be around the program, a crafty non-recruiting recruiting tactic.”
Except this became “another major selling point to Baker.” So he dipped from his Cal pledge. Plus even turned down a future visit to LSU.
Myles Baker Reveals his Side of World Cup/UCLA Story
Which game the coaches and recruits watched wasn’t determined. But that didn’t matter, as the cup persuaded UCLA’s latest power recruiting move.
Baker, who stars for nearby Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, confirmed he watched the games before flipping from Cal. Yet he revealed UCLA wasn’t “recruiting” him hard in that moment.
“They called me and were like, ‘Just come up,’ because the World Cup was going on and they were like, ‘Just come up and hang out. We’re not going to try to recruit you,” Baker told Gorney. “We’re not going to do any of that. We just want you to hang out and be around the players.”
Now he’ll be around those UCLA players more, as the newest member of its 2027 recruiting class. So UCLA must be thankful for the World Cup helping bring the Bruins their latest prominent recruit.
Closer Look at UCLA Recruiting Class Under Bob Chesney
Chesney took a big gamble in leaving College Football Playoff team James Madison for a struggling Big Ten program. Yet landing in Westwood presents a massive opportunity for him.
Starting with owning the recruiting trail. So Baker arrives as UCLA’s 23rd verbal pledge for this class. But now he hands Chesney and company their sixth four-star pledge.
Baker joins a list that features fellow blue chip recruits in five-star athlete Juju Johnson (Long Beach Poly), four-star safety Jerry Outhouse Jr. (North Crowley High in Fort Worth, Texas), and another safety in Pole Moala (Leuzinger High in Lawndale, California).
UCLA found a way to kick the tires at changing the mind of Baker. The Bruins gained a huge goal here.
UCLA Leans into the World Cup in Delivering Massive Offseason Move