The NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model is already changing how college coaches think about roster building, and at UCF, both Scott Frost and Johnny Dawkins see the ripple effects coming fast.
The Division I Council approved the “5-for-5” model, which gives athletes up to five seasons of eligibility inside a five-year window. That clock starts either when a player enrolls or at the beginning of the academic year after their 19th birthday. The goal is to simplify things by cutting out redshirting and eligibility waivers, and athletes who finished their fourth season in the 2025-26 academic year would not get an extra year.
For Frost, the impact is immediate. The second-year UCF football coach said the rule could alter how his staff approaches next season’s roster.
“It changes some of our decisions for next year immediately,” Frost recently told the Ortlando Sentinel over the phone from Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. “There are some kids we weren’t expecting to have an opportunity to retain that we might be able to if they want to be back and we want them.”
He also thinks the change clears up one of the messier parts of roster management.
“You’re also going to eliminate the problem that everybody is having in the drama of kids deciding not to play after their fourth game, so they can save another year (of eligibility),” he said.
Under the old setup, football players could appear in up to four regular-season games and still keep a year of eligibility. Once they played a fifth, the redshirt was gone.
Dawkins sees the same kind of value on the basketball side, especially when it comes to keeping a group together.
“Retention is important,” Dawkins recently told the Orlando Sentinel. “Your chemistry, your continuity. If you bring the right pieces back, it definitely gives you a head start going into the following season because they (players) already know your system.
“Some guys already get it and understand what you want. You add the age and now guys are 22 or 23 years old; they don’t age out yet and we can continue to develop them like we’re doing with John (Bol) or someone like Carmelo (Pacheco). I want those guys to be a part of what we’re trying to build here.”
There is also a real worry around how the rule could affect high school recruits, who may end up getting squeezed out by older transfer players who now have another year available. Dawkins, though, said freshmen still matter in his program.
“We still recruit freshmen. You’ll see us every year have like two or three,” said Dawkins.
“I’m never not going to recruit freshmen. Some people have elected to stay as old as possible and freshmen don’t matter (to them), but that’s not my philosophy.”
He already signed three freshmen for UCF’s 2026 class: forward Ladarius Givan, forward Dylan Mann and guard Jahda Swann.
And Dawkins made it clear those players are not being brought in just to fill out the roster.
“I’m not recruiting them just to be placeholders for positions on the bench. If they can compete, they can get into the rotation or start.
I’m not holding them back,” Dawkins added. “These kids came with that understanding that they can compete for the same opportunities as the upperclassmen and that’s fine because it’s competition and we want the best team out there.”
In Other News...
UCF No. 55 Reveal Puts Center Battle And Future Depth In Focus
Spring practice has already given UCF a better feel for what it may have in Jacob Maiava, a true center who is pushing into the mix for a starting job. The Knights like the athletic profile he brings, and his background only adds to the intrigue, with a family tree that has produced high-level football talent. For a team trying to sort out the middle of its offensive line, Maiava is the kind of player whose development can shape both the present and the depth chart beyond it.
Noah Mercer brings a different kind of upside to the 2026 roster, arriving as a defensive tackle with the kind of high school rsum that suggests there is more to come. He was a standout on defense at Key West and also showed off his athleticism in track and field, making him another name worth tracking as UCF builds out its future front. Between a center battle on one side of the ball and a promising interior defender on the other, the Knights have a couple of new pieces that could matter sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Former UCF Duo Just Got A Tough First NBA Audition
Riley Kugel and Themus Fulks took their first step into the NBA Summer League spotlight with the Los Angeles Clippers in Las Vegas, a small but notable milestone for two former UCF standouts now trying to carve out a path at the next level. Kugel arrived in Orlando as a highly regarded transfer and Fulks left with Third-Team All-Big 12 recognition, so both brought real college credentials with them into a setting where every possession is a tryout.
Their debut, though, came with the kind of limited run that often defines the first night of Summer League for young guards. The Clippers are back at it against the Utah Jazz, and with the team coming off a rough offensive showing, there should be a better chance for both ex-Knights to get a longer look and show whether their UCF production can translate when the minutes start to open up. [Read more 🡒]
Alonza Barnett Just Raised The Stakes For UCFs Offense
Alonza Barnett III arrived at UCF with the kind of rsum that naturally gets attention, even before he takes a snap in a Knights uniform. A transfer quarterback with College Football Playoff experience, Barnett has already drawn praise from Scott Frost for both his leadership and the dual-threat element he brings to the offense, giving UCF a different look as it tries to sharpen its attack.
The intrigue only grows from there, because Barnett has yet to get on the field for the Knights, leaving the staff to talk more about what he can add than what he has already shown in Orlando. Still, the national buzz is real, with On3's Brett McMurphy slotting him No. 7 among Big 12 quarterbacks, a sign that UCF may have brought in a player whose ceiling could change the conversation around the offense once he is ready. [Read more 🡒]