Madden Iamaleava, the younger brother of Nico Iamaleava, is expected to join his brother at UCLA, a source told ESPN’s Chris Low Monday.
The younger Iamaleava, an Arkansas freshman quarterback, will make the move after deciding to enter the NCAA transfer portal, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN earlier in the evening.
The younger Iamaleava was ESPN’s No. 145 overall recruit in the 2025 class and previously spent nearly eight months committed to UCLA before he flipped his pledge to the Razorbacks during the early signing period this past December. To date, Iamaleava is the highest-ranked member of the 2025 ESPN 300 to enter the transfer portal during the spring window.
Iamaleava’s exit from Arkansas comes one day after his older brother committed to UCLA out of the transfer portal. Nico Iamaleava landed with the Bruins on Sunday just over one week after Tennessee coach Josh Heupel announced that the Volunteers were moving forward without the former four-star prospect, who left the program after missing multiple team events earlier this month.
Madden Iamaleava was ESPN’s No. 12 pocket passer in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Long Beach, California, initially committed to UCLA in May 2024. He remained a member of coach DeShaun Foster’s inaugural signing class up to the start of the early signing period on Dec. 4, 2024, before he flipped and signed with Arkansas alongside fellow Bruins pledge and Long Beach Polytechnic (California) High School teammate Jace Brown.
At the time, Madden Iamaleava’s commitment to the Razorbacks marked a major recruiting win for Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, and the freshman passer remained with the program through the end of spring camp earlier this morning. He will enter the portal as one of the most intriguing quarterbacks transfer prospects with four years of eligibility remaining.
Madden Iamaleava did not play during his senior season after he was declared ineligible following his transfer from California’s Warren High School to Long Beach Polytechnic. He led Warren to an 11-3 record in his first season as a starting quarterback as a junior in 2023.
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