Road wins are never easy in college basketball, and UCF already knows how much one can matter. The Knights finished 5-5 in true away games last season, and one of those victories came against a Top 25 BYU team - the kind of result that can do real work for a March Madness résumé.
Now the full 2026-27 schedule is out, and six road trips stand out as the biggest tests awaiting Johnny Dawkins’ group.
The first one comes early, with UCF heading to Vanderbilt after the Commodores won in Orlando last season, 105-93, to complete the home-and-home. Mark Byington has wasted no time getting Vanderbilt moving again, guiding the program to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons.
That’s the first back-to-back tournament run for the Commodores since 2016 and 2017, and last season also brought their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012. Tyler Tanner is back after leading the team with 19.5 points per game and earning All-SEC first-team honors, while Chandler Bing returns as a key bench piece.
Byington also added seven freshmen, including Ant Brown Jr., whose final 10 schools included UCF, plus his son, Chase Byington. Former Colorado forward Bangot Dak also came in through the transfer portal.
Later in the nonconference slate, UCF goes to Indiana, where Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall still carries plenty of weight even in the post-Bob Knight era. Darian DeVries is entering his second season in Bloomington after a 18-14 mark and a 9-11 Big Ten finish, and the Hoosiers were unbeaten at home in nonconference play last season, including a win over Kansas State from the Big 12.
Their roster now includes former Duke guard Darren Harris, former Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell, and former Notre Dame guard Markus Burton, the 2025 All-ACC second-team selection. Indiana’s players also spent part of the offseason together representing the United States at the FISU America Games in Peru, where they won gold.
Another major trip sends the Knights to Tucson to face Arizona, which reached the Final Four last season. It will be just the second time ever that UCF has played there.
Tommy Lloyd lost three players to the NBA in Jaden Bradley, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat, but the Wildcats still have two key big men back in Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas, who earned All-Big 12 first-team honors. Arizona also added former North Carolina guard Derek Dixon and five-star guard Caleb Holt, with former Clemson forward RJ Godfrey potentially joining the mix depending on the outcome of his eligibility lawsuit.
Then there’s the trip to Kansas, where Allen Fieldhouse remains one of the sport’s hardest places to survive. Darryn Peterson is now with the Utah Jazz and Flory Bidunga has moved on to Louisville, but Bill Self still loaded up.
Kansas added five-star guards Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney, along with former Toledo guard Leroy Blyden Jr., who was the unanimous MAC Freshman of the Year, and former Utah forward Keanu Dawes. Dawes had a big game against UCF in Salt Lake City last season, putting up a double-double in a 73-71 Knights win.
UCF also heads to Stillwater, where Dawkins and center John Bol will see an old friend in former Knights forward Jordan Burks. Steve Lutz brought in Burks along with returning All-Big 12 honorable mention forward Parsa Fallah. The Cowboys also added guards Kashie Natt and Jacob Walker from Sam Houston, both All-CUSA selections, and their 2026 high school class was rated the eighth-best in the nation by 247Sports.
The Knights will also see Texas Tech both home and away in 2026-27, making that another important Big 12 matchup on the road.
In Other News...
UCF Suddenly Has A Week 3 QB Problem Steve Cooper Must Solve
UCFs quarterback plans changed quickly after Alonza Barnett III went down with a hamstring injury in the loss to Pittsburgh, leaving offensive coordinator Steve Cooper with a Week 3 decision he could not have expected a few days earlier. Cooper spent the week sorting through the options in practice, with the offense now built around whichever backup can get comfortable fast enough to keep the Knights on schedule.
Keyone Jenkins brings the most starting experience, which matters in a hurry-up situation like this, while Kaleb Annett offers a different look as a redshirt sophomore who arrived from Boise State. Cooper also pointed to the need for better protection up front after Pittsburgh exposed some issues, and that only adds pressure to a room already trying to absorb a sudden change at the most important position on the field. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Is Chasing A 2027 Forward Who Could Change Everything
Johnny Dawkins and his staff have made no secret of how much they want to keep building around high-end talent, and their latest recruiting push points straight at K'Nard Callendar. The 4-star Overtime Elite forward has emerged as a potential centerpiece for UCFs 2027 class, thanks to his hybrid skill set and a national profile that already puts him inside the top 100. For a program trying to keep climbing, a player with that kind of ceiling is exactly the sort of prospect that can change the tone of a class.
Callendars production in Overtime Elite has helped draw attention from several Power Four programs, and UCF is now working to make its case in a crowded race. The Knights are lining up a major recruiting visit in late September, a chance to show him how he could fit into Dawkins vision and why Orlando might be the place to start something bigger. For UCF, landing him would be more than a win on the trail, it would be a statement about where the program believes it can go. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Fans Just Got An Early Look At Next Seasons Biggest Tests
The next chapter of UCF mens basketball now has a full roadmap, and it comes with the kind of schedule that should keep Knights fans circling dates on the calendar. After the Big 12 released its conference slate, UCF unveiled its 2026-27 schedule, which features a mix of familiar league heavyweights and a few nonconference matchups that should tell a lot about where the program stands heading into the season.
Among the early focal points are home dates against Yale, Georgia, Iowa State, Houston and Texas Tech, along with the usual grind that comes with the Big 12. There is also some continuity on both sides of those matchups, with returning players and coaches expected to shape the seasons early feel, but one of the most intriguing games on the slate carries a little extra edge for UCF supporters who remember how close the last one was. [Read more 🡒]