UCF aims to repeat NCAA Tournament berth but faces a tough climb after losing 3 of its top 4 scorers

The Knights are coming off a 21-11 season in which they earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2019. Coach Johnny Dawkins led a team of mostly newcomers to a 10th seed — one of only two teams to make the tournament without any returning scoring production from the previous season — where the Knights lost to UCLA in the first round. Repeating that feat could be tough for UCF, which lost three of its top four leading scorers. The Knights have 11 newcomers in a competitive conference that saw eight of its 16 teams reach the tournament last year.

The Knights will have their leading scorer from last season, guard Riley Kugel, who went undrafted earlier this year but was recently granted a fifth year of eligibility. Kugel averaged 14.4 points and three rebounds last season. ... Senior guard Dior Johnson returned to UCF's roster after spending the 2025-26 season at Tarleton State, where he was the Western Athletic Conference's Sixth Man of the Year. He played a little over eight minutes per game at UCF in 2024-25 before averaging 24 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season.

Fifth-year guard Themus Fulks, who averaged 14 points and set the program's single-season assist record with 222 went undrafted this summer. Forward Jordan Burks, who averaged 13.3 points last year, transferred to Oklahoma State and Forward Jamichael Stillwell transferred to Texas Tech. ... The Knights will get a boost from redshirt senior guard Arturo Dean, who transferred last year from Oklahoma State but did not play, and his brother, Mister Dean, a guard who transferred from Charleston.

The Knights open the season on Nov. 2 at home against Florida Gulf Coast. Notable non-conference games include a home matchup against Mississippi State on No. 17 before traveling to face Vanderbilt on Nov 20. They also have a January slate that includes trips to face Arizona on Jan 6 and Arizona State on Jan 9 before hosting Baylor on Jan 16. UCF closes the season at TCU on March 6.

UCF won nine Big 12 games last season, the most in a season since joining the conference in 2023-24. ... The Knights averaged 80.7 points per game, the most since Dawkins took over as coach in 2016-17. ... Fulks was one of two players in the Big 12 to record at least seven games with 10-plus assists. ... UCF signed Dawkins to a three-year extension in May after the veteran coach led the Knights to back-to-back 20-win seasons.

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