What was so wrong if she was 12 and talking to UCLA coaches? If she was in Jr HS or middle school at the time, she can talk to the coaches all she wants. The more if she was on their campus.
By waiting until the end of her Sophomore year, you risk rolling the dice that the university still has athletic money available for her class year (they will find $$ for the elite player). I recall when my DD committed, her university deadline was to wrap up her 2017 class by the Spring of her Sophomore year.