UCF men’s basketball is back in familiar territory: trying to turn one breakthrough into something bigger.
After bowing out against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in mid-March at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, the Knights are opening a new season with the expectation that last year’s run was only the beginning. That trip to the tournament was UCF’s first since the 2018-19 season, and coach Johnny Dawkins made it clear the standard has changed.
“We want to sustain that excellence,” said Dawkins. “I thought last year’s team did an amazing job at establishing what we wanted to have happen that year.
Now, we need to build on it. So, in recruiting, we tried to find pieces that we thought would be able to help us sustain what we’re able to do.”
The roster has been reshaped around a core that starts with John Bol, the 7-foot-2 center who averaged 6 points and 5.5 rebounds last season. He’s back alongside guards Carmelo Pacheco and Tanner Jones and backup center Elijah Hulsewe, while the Knights also brought in eight transfers to deepen and broaden the group.
That transfer class includes guards Cayden Vasko from Wofford, Dior Johnson from Tarleton State, Arturo Dean from Oklahoma State and Mister Dean from Charleston. UCF also added forwards Lewis Walker from NC A&T, Churchill Abass from New Orleans, Isaiah Malone from FGCU and Jason Asemota from Boston College.
The freshman class brings three more names into the mix: guard Jahda Swann from St. James Academy in New York, and forwards Dylan Mann of IV Greatness Academy and Ladarius Givan of Petersburg High.
Dawkins said the roster build was shaped by the demands of Big 12 play.
“We wanted to continue to build this year’s roster on Big 12 play,” Dawkins said of the roster construction. “We’re close to having the Big 12 bodies that we would like to have, but that’s still been a work in progress for us.
“We’ve gotten some bigger guys a little longer, some guys maybe a little heavier in some situations. So I thought that would be good for us. It’s the only way we compete in 18 league games.”
The most surprising piece of the offseason came when shooting guard Riley Kugel returned to the program after an Indiana District Court judge issued a temporary injunction that gave the former Dr. Phillips High standout an extra year of eligibility. Kugel was UCF’s top scorer last season, putting up 14.4 points per game to go with 2.5 assists while shooting nearly 42% from the field.
For Kugel, being back has been personal.
“I’m at home. You can say it’s kind of just like a full-circle moment,” said Kugel.
“I’m back with my friends and family and I’m back with a couple of guys from last year and people I’ve been playing with. So, it’s been fun.”
With 11 new players in the mix, building chemistry is the biggest project left before the games start to count. Bol said the returning pieces matter in helping set the tone.
“Culture is a really big thing, especially in an era like NIL and how people move from one school to another,” said Bol. “It really destroys the community and the culture of a team. But I feel like we have like a good amount of people back, that we can just build off that.”
Dawkins said that bond is still developing.
“The chemistry is coming. It’s not where we wanted, as you can imagine, with 11 new players, but we’re getting there,” added Dawkins.
The schedule won’t give UCF much room to ease in. Dawkins loaded the nonconference slate with tests against Power Four opponents Mississippi State on Nov.
17, Vanderbilt on Nov. 20, Boston College on Nov.
26, Georgia on Nov. 27, Indiana on Dec. 12 and Virginia Tech on Dec.
“The only way you can get prepared for the Big 12 is to play teams of caliber,” Dawkins said of the schedule. “We’re going to play great teams. We’re going to try to play in great environments to expose our kids to everything they need to see before we hit conference play.”
And once league play arrives, the challenge only rises. UCF’s Big 12 schedule includes six NCAA Tournament teams: Arizona, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Houston and BYU.
Still, the Knights have already shown they can handle the league. They tied for seventh in the Big 12 standings last season with a program-best nine conference wins, highlighted by victories over No.
17 Kansas, No. 11 Texas Tech and No.
19 BYU.
UCF opens the season Monday against Florida Gulf Coast University at Addition Financial Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with the game on ESPN+.
In Other News...
UCF Now Faces A Damaging Response Test After Big 12 Punishment
The aftermath of Saturdays game in Orlando has shifted quickly from the field to the conference office, with the Big 12 moving to address discriminatory chants that were directed at Brigham Young University. Along with the punishment, the league also rolled out updated policies for how it will handle discriminatory conduct at athletic events, outlining a tougher framework that can include fines, competitive penalties and bans for individuals involved.
For UCF, the next step is as much about response as it is about discipline. The school said it will review its options after the Big 12s decision, and the larger issue now is how the program and its fan base are judged in the wake of an incident that drew league-level attention. The conference has made clear it intends to treat these situations more seriously going forward, which leaves the Knights facing not only a financial hit but a broader test of accountability. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Defense Faces A Bigger Test Than Fans Wanted Friday
Fresh off a historic upset of BYU, UCF heads into Friday with a defense that looked sturdy in the win but still left room for concern. The Knights held up well overall, yet they did not consistently get to the quarterback, and that remains the kind of issue that can change quickly once conference play settles in.
Baylor brings a different kind of challenge, with an offensive line that has already given up its share of pressure this season. For UCF, the matchup is a chance to sharpen the pass rush and tighten up against the run, two areas that could matter just as much as the emotional lift from the BYU win when the next one kicks off. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs UCF Trip Just Sparked A Bigger Big 12 Response
UCFs home game against BYU is still reverberating beyond the final whistle, with the Big 12 taking formal action after discriminatory chants were directed at BYU fans during and after the matchup. The conference said it reviewed the incident and decided the Knights would be fined, even though UCF worked to follow protocols and remove the offending fans when the behavior was identified.
The league also made clear this is being treated as a warning shot, not a one-off response. The money will go toward student education initiatives, and the Big 12 underscored that it expects member schools to do more to prevent discriminatory conduct, signaling that future incidents could bring harsher consequences for the Knights and any other program caught in a similar spot. [Read more 🡒]