Nico Iamaleava staying with UCLA for 2026 season

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UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava will be staying with the Bruins for the 2026 season, he announced today via social media.

“No place like home,” his post reads. “Back with my brothers. Same vision. Same goals. Same grind. Locked in. Time to work!”

A Long Beach native who attended both Warren High School and Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Iamaleava joined UCLA in 2025 as a redshirt sophomore following two years at Tennessee. As a redshirt freshman in Knoxville, he threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns while leading the Volunteers to the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Iamaleava’s move to Westwood was controversial, involving a heavily contested dispute with Tennessee about his name, image and likeness earnings. In his first season with the Bruins, he appeared in 11 of a possible 12 games, passing for 1,928 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 505 yards and four touchdowns.

UCLA’s difficult 3-9 season was marked by significant turnover on the coaching staff, especially on offense, as both head coach DeShaun Foster and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri were dismissed during the season. The high point of the season was a three-game winning streak under interim head coach Tim Skipper and interim offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel, during which Iamaleava threw for 567 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 156 yards and three touchdowns.

In the offseason, UCLA hired James Madison’s Bob Chesney as their new head coach. Chesney will be bringing James Madison offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy along with him to serve in the same role. It appears they have the quarterback who will be guiding their first offense in Westwood.

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