The UCF Knights are rebuilding again under head coach Johnny Dawkins, and it’s becoming a yearly thing for the third-year Big 12 member.
The Knights are coming off a winning season but lost nearly its entire roster from a season ago. Just two players from last year’s roster are back. So, Dawkins and his staff reached into the transfer portal and the recruiting trail to try and put together a team that can improve on a 20-win season a year ago.
Here is a preview of the UCF Knights.
UCF Knights
2024-25: 20-17, 7-13 in Big 12, tied for 12th place. Reached second round of Big 12 Tournament before losing to Kansas. Reached championship game of College Basketball Crown before losing to Nebraska.
Head coach: Johnny Dawkins is entering his 10th season with UCF. He is 168-120 overall with the Knights and 324-235 for his coaching career. Under his leadership the Knights have been to one NCAA Tournament, three NITs and one CBC.
Big 12 history: UCF made its Big 12 debut during the 2023-24 season. In two seasons it has won 14 league games and not finished better than a tie for 11th place.
2025-26 Schedule: Click here for the full Big 12 men’s schedule.
UCF 2025-26 Roster Review
Gone: Keyshawn Hall (18.8 PPG), Darius Johnson (17.4 PPG), Jordan Ivy-Curry (13.1 PPG), Moustapha Thiam (10.4 PPG), Jaylin Sellers (6.0 PPG), Dallan Coleman (5.3 PPG), Mikey Williams (5.1 PPG), JJ Taylor (4.4 PPG), Nils Machowski (3.7 PPG), Benny Williams (3.6 PPG), Tyler Hendricks (3.2 PPG), Dior Johnson (2.9 PPG), Rokas Jocius (2.0 PPG), Cameron Simpson
Returning: C Elijah Hulsewe (redshirt), G Poohpha Warakulnukroh
Incoming transfers: G Themus Fulks (14.6 PPG at Milwaukee), F Jamichael Stillwell (13.0 PPG at Milwaukee), G George Beale Jr. (13.0 PPG at Hampton), G Carmelo Pacheco (9.5 PPG at Mount St. Mary’s), G Riley Kugel (9.3 PPG at Mississippi State), F Jordan Burks (5.7 PPG at Georgetown), F Devan Cambridge (5.5 PPG at Texas Tech), G Kris Parker (2.6 PPG at Villanova), C Jeremy Foumena (1.1 PPG at Mississippi State), C John Bol (1.1 PPG at Ole Miss), G Chris Johnson (Stephen F. Austin).
Incoming freshmen: G Tanner Jones, G Zach Johnson, G Tanner Jones.
Projected Starting Lineup
G Themus Fulks: The top scorer on the roster, the Knights will need his offense.
G Riley Kugel: The Knights will lean into his SEC experience.
F Jamichael Stillwell: Played with Fulks at Milwaukee and the chemistry will be key.
F Jordan Burks: Showed some scoring ability at Georgetown and likely gets the early nod.
C John Bol: The Knights gave him 10 minutes against LSU. The least likely player to hang onto a starting spot.
Starting Lineup Crashers
G Chris Johnson: Averaged 10 ppg in three games at Stephen F. Austin. Formerly a Top 50 recruit at Texas.
F Devan Cambridge; He can make an impact, but the Knights have to keep him healthy.
G George Beale Jr.: One of Hampton’s top scorers from last season could grow into a sixth man star.
Lineup Competition
This is basically a rebuild from the studs for Dawkins. He assembled a solid group of guards in the transfer portal. Four of them averaged at least nine points a year ago and Kugel, in particular, should be Big 12 ready. Still, there is enough room for a player like Johnson or Pacheco to crash the party. Dawkins will rotate many of them through the lineup in non-conference. The frontcourt is more of a question. Dawkins has been able to lean on length inside the past two season, and he has it on the roster. But little of it is proven. He’ll lean on more experienced forwards early to give those 7-footers time to acclimate.
Early Prediction
Dawkins is at a point in his career with UCF where he needs to make the NCAA Tournament. Getting to the final of the Crown was nice, but none of that experience is there now. That was one of the benefits of non-NCAA postseason tournaments before the portal — a coach could build for next year. Now, he’s building from scratch. Expect some stumbles early. A difficult start to conference action means we’ll get a sense of where the Knights are by mid-January. I’m projecting a team that can challenge for a Top 8 finish — if things go right.
