Is Madden Iamaleava related to Nico Iamaleva? Here’s what you need to know about UCLA’s quarterback

Curiosity arises regarding Madden Iamaleava and Nico Iamaleva if they are related to each other as they share the same last name. In addition to this, both play the same sport at the college level and in the same position. Madden officially signed with the UCLA Bruins this year  as per On3’s Pete Nakos, and joined Nico in the team. Now that they play together, here is a look at how the two quarterbacks are related to each other. 

Arkansas QB transfer Madden Iamaleava signed with UCLA—What Is His Connection With Nico Iamaleva? 

Madden Iamaleava and Nico Iamaleava are both brothers. Madden is younger, while Nico is older. Both the college football players were born to Nicholaus “Nic” Iamaleava Sr and Marleinna Iamaleava. Unfortunately, at the end of 2020, Marleinna was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. 

They are not the only kids of their parents, as Nico and Madden are seven siblings, as per On3. In addition to this, they are also not the only athletes in their family. The college football players’ older brother is a former volleyball player at Poly and now plays at Long Beach State. His name was also listed in the high school All-American. Meanwhile, their sister, Nicaylah, is also a volleyball player at Cypress College. 

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Madden previously played for the Arkansas Razorbacks. During his prep days at Long Beach Poly High School, he was ranked as a four-star prospect as per 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN. Meanwhile, On3 rated him as a three-star prospect. The QB has offers from UCLA, Arizona, Auburn, Cal, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska and Ole Miss, before he provided his commitment to play for the Razorbacks. He was also offered to play for programs like Oregon State, Pittsburgh, SMU, TCU, Tennessee, UNLV, Washington, Washington State and others. 

Iamaleava entered the transfer portal this year and was initially committed to UCLA in May 2024. However, the quarterback moved to Arkansas in December and signed a one-year NIL deal with the Arkansas Edge collective, as per a report in CBS Sports.