As UCF works through its 2026 roster, Brady Wayburn stands out as one of the more practical additions on the offensive line: a player with game experience, position flexibility, and a profile that fits what the Knights want to do up front.
Wayburn’s path to Orlando started in Gastonia, North Carolina, at Forestview High School before he finished his prep career in Connecticut at the Loomis Chaffee School, a small school with fewer than 800 students. There, he became a team captain for coach Jeff Moore, who was in his final season at Loomis Chaffee before taking the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator job at UMass, where he still holds that role.
Last season at UConn, Wayburn appeared in 12 games and started six times at right guard. According to his UCF Athletics profile page, he posted a 77.4 PFF run-blocking grade, which ranked him No. 42 among offensive guards and No. 12 among run-blocking tackles.
That production matters for UCF’s 2026 outlook because both the Knights’ starting and backup right guards from last season graduated. On paper, Wayburn is the leading candidate to step into that spot, unless Preston Cushman moves inside and changes the picture.
Offensive line coach AJ Blazek had a simple way of describing him after an April 9 practice.
"He ran a lot of wide zone at UConn, which we knew he could do that, but to get him here and see how strong he is has been the impressive part," Blazek said. "So, he's a guy that, you get him and [Connor] Meadows in there, and they're gonna be able to set some edges, I think, as we go."
Whether Wayburn wins the starting job or not, his strength and his experience in wide zone should put him in line for regular snaps in 2026.
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Alex Karaban Is Walking Into A Very Different Standard In Sacramento
Alex Karaban has already taken the first step into a very different basketball world. The former UConn forward, selected No. 29 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, arrived in Sacramento to begin his career with the Kings, where team personnel and fans were on hand to welcome him at the airport. For a player who built his college reputation in a winning culture, the move puts him in a spot where the organization is trying to reset and build something new.
Sacramento is coming off a difficult 2025-26 season and is clearly in a rebuilding phase, with injuries and offseason movement taking a toll on a roster that has had to absorb plenty of change. Karaban enters that environment as a newcomer expected to learn quickly, settle in and help a franchise that has been searching for consistent footing for years. He sounded excited about the chance, but the larger challenge in front of him is fitting into a team that is trying to define what comes next. [Read more 🡒]