Riley Kugel’s path back to UCF is suddenly looking a lot more real.
The former Knights leading scorer has been fighting for another year of eligibility, and two court developments in Indiana have pushed him closer to a fifth season in Orlando. In late September, Kugel received a temporary injunction from a Monroe Circuit Court ruling that made him eligible for the time being. Then on Monday, the NCAA’s request to stay that preliminary injunction was denied.
If Kugel ends up back in the fold, Johnny Dawkins would be getting a proven scorer and one of his best perimeter defenders from last season. It would also give UCF a familiar piece in a backcourt that has already added Jahda Swann and Dior Johnson.
Kugel’s production last season made the case for why this matters. He averaged 14.4 points per game and showed the kind of versatility that makes him so hard to handle offensively.
He can get to his spots and score from all three levels, and he flashed that early in the year against Vanderbilt, when he put up 25 points while hitting 4-of-5 from 3-point range. That performance came in the second game of a seven-game stretch in which he scored at least 12 points every night.
He also delivered when the Knights needed a jolt later in the season. After an ankle injury against TCU on Feb. 17 forced him to miss two games, Kugel returned against Baylor and exploded for a career-high 26 points. He added five assists and five rebounds, and even in an 87-86 loss, he was the engine behind UCF’s comeback, scoring 14 second-half points after the Knights had fallen into a double-digit halftime hole.
Kugel stayed hot after that, following the Baylor game with an efficient 18 points against Oklahoma State on 7-of-14 shooting.
After UCF’s first-round March Madness loss to UCLA, Kugel spoke about what he hoped the team would be remembered for.
"I would say a a team that battled through ups and downs, that you know, persevered through. No matter what critics, media said, preseason polls.
You know, just 13 individuals that came together who had one goal," Kugel said. "We came up short, but still to come this far, we didn't came far.
So, just to be able to, you know, buy in and lock into what the coaches are telling us, Coach Dawkins is telling us throughout the whole year and just staying together. I think you've got to respect it."
Kugel declared for the NBA Draft after that season, but he went undrafted and entered the free agent market. The Los Angeles Clippers then signed him and UCF point guard Themus Fulks to Summer League deals.
With No. 5 overall pick Keaton Wagler and veterans like Kobe Sanders, Sean Pedulla and Cam Christie on the roster, there wasn’t much room for both players to carve out minutes.
That’s why another year with Dawkins would matter on both sides. It would strengthen UCF’s push to get back to the Big Dance, and it could also give Kugel another chance to boost his NBA stock with a bigger season.
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UCF Needs Its Passing Game Fast With Oklahoma State Up Next
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Scott Frost has pointed to the need for more production downfield without pinning the problem on the receivers alone, but the numbers still tell a grim story for a Power 4 offense that ranks near the bottom in receiving yards. Oklahoma State brings a much different challenge, with Drew Mestemaker coming off recent performances that featured more than 300 passing yards and multiple touchdowns. For UCF, the question is less about style and more about urgency, because the Knights will need sharper timing and more explosive plays fast. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Season Outlook Just Shifted In A Big Way
Baylors sharp showing against Arizona State changed the conversation around the Bears in a hurry, especially with a stretch of the Big 12 schedule coming up that looks manageable enough to keep building momentum. The early read on the league has plenty of moving parts, too, from Texas Techs habit of digging itself an early hole before turning things around in the second half to the broader sense that one strong weekend can quickly reshape how the conference race feels.
For UCF, the bigger concern has been at quarterback, where injuries have already forced the Knights to keep adjusting on the fly just to stay functional at the position. That uncertainty has made every snap at the spot matter even more, because any lingering health question can change how the offense is built from one week to the next. [Read more 🡒]