UCF basketball made the tournament for the first time in six years last season. Will the Knights be able to repeat that feat for the second time in program history?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: UCF basketball.
The immortal Johnny Dawkins returns for his 11th season in Orlando after leading UCF basketball to the NCAA tournament for the second time in his tenure and the sixth time in program history. The Knights just barely struck out against UCLA in the first round last season, and they’ve got the talent to make a return if they can put the right pieces together.
Manning point for UCF basketball will be Oklahoma State transfer Arturo Dean. Dean is a spirited player and world-class perimeter defender who will be a huge addition for the Knights backcourt. However, there is a lack of depth at point behind Dean, who will be asked to carry a large amount of minutes on his shoulders.
The starting shooting guard position will likely be held by Tarleton State transfer Dior Johnson. Behind him is returnee Carmelo Pacheco, one of two players from last season’s tournament squad that will likely see regular playing time. Pacheco scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting from deep in a win over Texas A&M last November, but only recorded one more game in double figures over the course of the season. If he can recapture that type of shooting touch, he’ll certainly see the court more often.
Tanner Jones is the fourth guard in the UCF basketball rotation. Though a three-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Jones redshirted last season and didn’t see game action. With a year in the Dawkins system, (and the weight room) Jones will provide valuable depth in the backcourt.
After a stellar freshman season with NC A&T, North Carolina native Lewis Walker is bringing his talents to Orlando. The 6’6″ forward is an immediate scoring threat and solid replacement for the lost offensive production from Riley Kugel. He’ll be backed up by Wofford transfer Cayden Vasko, who started all 32 games for the Terriers last season. Vasko’s best game last year came in a conference matchup against VMI, where he scored 26 points and recorded nine rebounds and five assists.
Three players will get playing time at the power forward position, and FGCU transfer Isaiah Malone will likely earn the starting job (for now). Malone averaged 10.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG for the Eagles last year, and led the A-Sun with 1.9 BPG on the defensive end. The high-flying Mister Dean (brother of Arturo) transfers in from the College of Charleston, where he suffered a knee injury that cut his season short after three games. Once he returns to 100 percent, he’ll challenge Malone for the starting position.
One-time four-star recruit Jason Asemota will provide reserve depth behind the two after averaging 3.1 PPG and 2.1 RPG last season with Boston College in Earl Grant’s final year at the helm.
At the five, returnee John Bol will almost certainly start. Bol, along with Pacheco, is one of two contributors this season that saw action last year. Bol is a tall seven-plus-footer that can scoop up and collect rebounds on either side of the ball. While he isn’t much of a threat offensively, he doesn’t need to score 10 points every game to produce value for UCF basketball.
Backing up Bol will be New Orleans transfer Churchill Abass and freshman recruit Ladarius Givan. Abass is on his fourth team in four years, but there’s hope that he’ll build on his best season so far last year with the Privateers. Givan has the potential to move into the second-string role behind Bol, but as of right now it’s just potential. A year learning from Bol and Abass will help him develop into a regular contributor next season.
Ultimately, the result of this team depends on how well this batch of transfers fits into the Dawkins blueprint, as well as the health of Mister Dean and adjustment of Lewis Walker to the high-major level. Not every team from the Big 12 can make the NCAA tournament, but if the Knights can just get to 9th or 10th in the conference, that should be enough.
Head coach: Johnny Dawkins (19th season overall, 11th with UCF)
2025-26 record: 21-12 (9-9)
2026 postseason finish: Lost in first round of NCAA tournament to UCLA
Notable departures:
- Every player from last season except Carmelo Pacheco and John Bol.
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Mississippi State (Nov. 17)
- at Vanderbilt (Nov. 20)
- at Indiana (Dec. 12)
- vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 19) – Fort Lauderdale
Projected Rotation
PG: Arturo Dean (5-11, 165, R-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 7.6 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.1 RPG, 2.5 SPG (Oklahoma State)
Sat out 2025-26 season due to NCAA transfer rules
SG: Dior Johnson (6-3, 190, R-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 24.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 53.8 3P% (Tarleton State)
SF: Lewis Walker (6-6, 230, R-So.)
2025-26 stats: 18.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 36.7 3P% (NC A&T)
PF: Isaiah Malone (6-9, 220, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.9 BPG (FGCU)
C: John Bol (7-2, 235, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.3 APG, 1.1 BPG, 71.7 FG%
6: Carmelo Pacheco (6-5, 215, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 4.6 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG, 39.4 3PT%
7: Cayden Vasko (6-6, 190, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 80.0 FT% (Wofford)
8: Mister Dean (6-6, 200, R-So.)
2025-26 stats: 10.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, three games played (College of Charleston)
Suffered season-ending knee injury in Nov. 2025
9: Churchill Abass (6-9, 235, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.7 BPG (New Orleans)
10: Tanner Jones (6-4, 200, R-Fr.)
247Sports Composite Three-Star Recruit in Class of 2025
11: Jason Asemota (6-8, 205, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 3.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.1 APG, 7.9 MPG (Boston College)
12: Ladarius Givan (6-10, 235, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #262 Recruit in Class of 2026
UCF basketball team MVP: Arturo Dean
UCF basketball desperately needed a lead guard, and they should be thankful they’ve got Dean this season, because as mentioned earlier, there really isn’t another true point guard on the roster. Florida native Arturo Dean has an argument for being the best defensive guard in the country, and that’s not just conjecture: he led all of D-I with 3.4 steals per game with FIU in the 2023-24 season.
While his offensive success rate fell a bit in 2024-25 with Oklahoma State, (Dean sat out last season due to transfer rules) his defensive numbers are still inarguably near the top of the league. His 4.8% steal percentage as a freshman was impressive, no doubt, as it led the CUSA. However, it’s still the lowest rate of Dean’s career. In both his sophomore and junior season, he posted steal rates over 5.5%.
Over three seasons, Dean recorded 21 games with three steals in the box score at the end of the game. That sounds like a lot until you realize he had 29 games with more than three steals, including three games with seven steals and one performance against FGCU with 10. Even if Arturo Dean scored zero points every game, he’d still be a net positive for UCF basketball.
UCF basketball make-or-break player: Lewis Walker
Walker is another aforementioned transfer, this time from NC A&T. As a freshman last season, Walker was named to the All-CAA team, leading the Aggies with 18.9 PPG and starting 26 of 29 games he appeared in. Projected to start on the wing for the Knights this season, Walker brings more value on offense than defense, but is certainly capable of producing on both ends of the court. He led the Aggies in box plus/minus and offensive win shares last season, and was second on the team in defensive win shares.
It’s rare to see this type of production from a freshman in the CAA, but Walker did the most he could last season for A&T, scoring in double-digits in all but two games he played in. His collegiate debut saw him rack up 16 points against South Carolina and he totaled a dozen games of 20+ points on the year. While the Big 12 is certainly a step up from the mid-major level, Walker is seemingly ready for the task.
Key statistic: Offensive rebounds per game
The Knights were cleaning up on the offensive glass last season, mostly thanks to Jamichael Stillwell and John Bol, who combined for 5.2 offensive rebounds per game. While Stillwell is gone, Bol returns to help produce second chances for UCF basketball yet again. One name to watch out for here is Churchill Abass, who averaged 1.8 offensive rebounds for the former New Orleans Privateers (now LSU New Orleans) last season.
While the Southland obviously doesn’t compare size-wise to Big 12 frontcourts, Abass is a physical and willing rebounder. There’s no reason to think he can’t muscle his way into the paint with a different jersey on his chest. Also be on the lookout for FGCU transfer Isaiah Malone, who also averaged 1.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Despite whatever concerns people may have about differences in competition between high and mid-majors, UCF basketball should be able to at least come close to replicating last year’s offensive rebounding numbers again this season.
UCF basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 12th in the Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament second round exit