Meet Johnny Dawkins’ 2025-26 UCF basketball roster, rebuilt through transfer portal

UCF basketball coach Johnny Dawkins wants expanded NCAA Tournament

UCF Knights men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins is in favor of an expanded March Madness field.

• The UCF men’s basketball team has been almost entirely rebuilt, featuring 11 transfers, two freshmen, and only two returning players.
• The roster includes notable transfers like Jamichael Stillwell from Milwaukee and Riley Kugel, who is returning to his hometown of Orlando.
• Head coach Johnny Dawkins enters his 10th season with the goal of leading the Knights back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

ORLANDO — Jamichael Stillwell played against UCF last basketball season and will suit up for the Knights when they take the floor for the Nov. 3 opener against Hofstra. Expecting this year’s group — comprised of 11 transfers, two true freshmen and two holdovers at the end of the bench — to guard tougher at the defensive end, he believes his team is being slept on.

“We’re going to shock a lot of people,” said Stillwell, a newcomer from Milwaukee.

“We’ve got a lot of pieces. I feel like everybody on the team can score. … This year is going to be more team basketball. We don’t really have one player that’s going to average 20, but a lot of scorers. I feel like it’s going to be a really fun, exciting team.”

GAME 1: UCF basketball opens season vs. Hofstra. Scouting report, predictions

To Stillwell’s point, UCF placed 14th out of 16 teams in both the Big 12 Conference’s preseason coaches poll and the USA TODAY Network’s media poll. National runner-up Houston was tabbed as the favorite, followed by BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona and Iowa State.

UCF does not return a single player that scored a basket during the 2024-25 season, one which culminated in a run to the championship game of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. Only four other Power Four programs are starting from scratch: Baylor, Indiana, Miami and West Virginia.

Here’s a quick overview on where players from last year’s team that still had NCAA eligibility ended up:

• Mikey Williams — Sacramento State
• JJ Taylor — Northern Illinois
• Keyshawn Hall — Auburn
• Dior Johnson — Tarleton State
• Cameron Simpson — Texas State
• Tyler Hendricks — Utah Valley
• Nils Machowski — Wofford
• Jaylin Sellers — Providence
• Rokas Jocius — Loyola Marymount
• Moustapha Thiam — Cincinnati

Johnny Dawkins enters his 10th season as the Knights’ head coach, and he recruited a veteran group from the portal with intentions to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

“The expectation is not going to change for me, ever, until the day I retire,” Dawkins said. “We’re always going to have a championship vision — that’s in our conference, and that’s nationally. I won’t do it any other way. When we recruit these young men, I recruit them with the highest of expectations that we can be successful at the highest level.”

Dawkins returned to his old stomping grounds Oct. 21 for an exhibition meeting at Duke, where he was a two-time All-American and the 1986 Naismith Player of the Year. UCF lost the game 96-71, and then 75-68 in a preseason home game against LSU on Oct. 26.

Ahead of their debut, let’s meet the rebuilt Knights, listed below in jersey numerical order.

Jeremy Foumena

• Jersey number: 0
• Height: 6-11
• Weight: 250
• Position: Center
• Eligibility: Redshirt junior
• Hometown: Montréal, Québec, Canada
• 2024-25 stats (at Mississippi State): Nine games (zero starts), 25 minutes played, 33.3% field goals (3 for 9), 16.7% 3-point shooting (1 for 6), 75% free throws (3 for 4), 1.1 points and 0.6 rebounds per game
• Analysis: Arriving at UCF is a full-circle moment for Foumena, who visited the Knights in 2022, during his prep-school days in Canada. He eventually signed with Rhode Island, spent a year with the Rams and transferred to Mississippi State, where he made just nine appearances off the bench.

Themus Fulks

• Jersey number: 1
• Height: 6-2
• Weight: 185
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Fifth-year senior
• Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C.
• 2024-25 stats (at Milwaukee): 32 games (32 starts), 1,094 minutes played, 47.7% field goals (166 for 348), 25.9% 3-point shooting (14 for 54), 80.5% free throws (120 for 149), 14.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.9 steals per game
• Analysis: Chosen as one of the Knights’ three captains, Fulks brings NCAA tournament experience from his two-year spell at Louisiana. He had 11 assists in a first-round loss to Tennessee. He ranked 22nd nationally in that category on a per-game basis in 2024-25, helping Milwaukee average 18.4 fastbreak points per game.

Riley Kugel

• Jersey number: 2
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 210
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Senior
• Hometown: Orlando, Fla.
• 2024-25 stats (at Mississippi State): 33 games (14 starts), 739 minutes played, 43.3% field goals (110 for 254), 33.3% 3-point shooting (40 for 120), 75.4% free throws (46 for 61), 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game
• Analysis: It’s a homecoming for Dr. Phillips grad Kugel, a veteran of 98 college games between SEC contenders Florida and Mississippi State. He topped double-figures in scoring 17 times last season, though his career-high (25) was set Nov. 24, 2023 in an NIT Tip-Off game against Baylor.

George Beale Jr.

• Jersey number: 3
• Height: 6-4
• Weight: 200
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Senior
• Hometown: Suffolk, Va.
• 2024-25 stats (at Hampton): 33 games (15 starts), 805 minutes played, 44.7% field goals (160 for 358), 39.5% 3-point shooting (62 for 157), 87.3% free throws (48 for 55), 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds per game
• Analysis: Beale can let it rip from beyond the arc, maintaining a 38.9% percentage from long range across three college seasons — the first two at Norfolk State. Last year, he finished 12th among Coastal Athletic Association shooters with 62 3-point field goals made. Beale has typically flashed from the bench, starting 21 of his 81 career games.

Jamichael Stillwell

• Jersey number: 4
• Height: 6-8
• Weight: 225
• Position: Forward
• Eligibility: Senior
• Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
• 2024-25 stats (at Milwaukee): 31 games (29 starts), 868 minutes played, 46.8% field goals (146 for 312), 28.6% 3-point shooting (20 for 70), 56.2% free throws (91 for 162), 13.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals per game
• Analysis: UCF beat out Memphis and Providence for Stillwell, the No. 125 overall transfer in 247Sports’ rankings. He became the first player in Milwaukee history to average a double-double for an entire season, and was one of 30 finalists for the Riley Wallace Award given to the most impactful transfer in Division I men’s basketball. Stillwell played two years of JUCO ball, a season apiece at Miami-Dade and Butler (Kan.).

Kris Parker

• Jersey number: 5
• Height: 6-9
• Weight: 201
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Redshirt sophomore
• Hometown: Tallahassee, Fla.
• 2024-25 stats (at Villanova): 27 games (zero starts), 273 minutes played, 43.6% field goals (24 for 55), 20% 3-point shooting (5 for 25), 60% free throws (18 for 30), 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds per game
• Analysis: UCF was one of four finalists in 2023 when Parker, the FHSAA Class 2A Player of the Year at Quincy’s Crossroad Academy Charter School, ultimately signed with Alabama. He suited up against the Knights in the College Basketball Crown semifinals, logging two minutes off the bench. Parker’s parents both played basketball at Florida A&M; his mother, Shelly Boston, was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2000.

John Bol

• Jersey number: 7
• Height: 7-2
• Weight: 210
• Position: Center
• Eligibility: Sophomore
• Hometown: Boma, South Sudan
• 2024-25 stats (at Ole Miss): 17 games (zero starts), 69 minutes played, 66.7% field goals (8 for 12), 50% free throws (3 for 6), five blocked shots, 1.1 points, 0.9 rebounds per game
• Analysis: Bol is poised to make UCF history as the first McDonald’s All-American to play for the Knights. The consensus four-star prospect nearly averaged a double-double for Overtime Elite as a high school senior. He is the natural fit to fill the rim-protection void left by Moustapha Thiam, who transferred to rival Cincinnati along with assistant coach Mamadou N’diaye.

Elijah Hulsewe

• Jersey number: 9
• Height: 7-0
• Weight: 270
• Position: Center
• Eligibility: Redshirt junior
• Hometown: Orlando, Fla.
• 2024-25 stats (at UCF): Redshirted, did not appear in any games
• Analysis: The first of two holdovers for the Knights, Hulsewe played 45 games — including 17 starts — across two seasons at Bethune-Cookman. He averaged 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore, setting a career-high in scoring with 13 against both Trinity (Fla.) and Longwood.

Carmelo Pacheco

• Jersey number: 11
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 190
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Junior
• Hometown: Harrisonburg, Va.
• 2024-25 stats (at Mount St. Mary’s): 30 games (30 starts), 845 minutes played, 46.8% field goals (88 for 188), 46.4% 3-point shooting (77 for 166), 81.6% free throws (31 for 38), 9.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game
• Analysis: Pacheco finished 2024-25 ranked fourth through Division I in 3-point shooting percentage. He knocked down at least four 3s on 10 occasions, including a game-winner versus Niagara with 1.2 seconds left in regulation. Prior to Mount St. Mary’s, Pacheco spent one year at the D-II level at Virginia-Wise.

Chris Johnson

• Jersey number: 22
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 196
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Junior
• Hometown: Houston, Texas
• 2024-25 stats (at Stephen F. Austin): Three games (zero starts), 51 minutes played, 46.4% field goals (13 for 28), 16.7% 3-point shooting (2 for 12), 80% free throws (4 for 5), 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds per game
• Analysis: A native of the Lone Star State, Johnson returns to Central Florida, where he attended Montverde Academy in 2022-23. He ended the cycle as the No. 72 recruit in the nation, per 247Sports, and gained a little bit of Big 12 experience by appearing in seven conference games as a freshman for Texas.

Zach Johnson

• Jersey number: 24
• Height: 6-6
• Weight: 205
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Freshman
• Hometown: Southern Pines, N.C.
• Analysis: Johnson committed to the Knights in May after a big season at IV Greatness Academy in Raleigh, N.C. He averaged 30 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.

Tanner Jones

• Jersey number: 30
• Height: 6-4
• Weight: 190
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Freshman
• Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
• Analysis: Dawkins coached Jones’ father, Dahntay, for two seasons at Duke (2001-03) before the latter enjoyed a 13-year NBA career and won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tanner spent his senior year at IMG Academy in Bradenton following a three-year stint at Campbell Hall in Studio City, Calif.

Poohpha Warakulnukroh

• Jersey number: 33
• Height: 5-11
• Weight: 177
• Position: Guard
• Eligibility: Redshirt senior
• Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
• 2024-25 stats (at UCF): Four games (zero starts), three minutes, two rebounds, one assist, one steal
• Analysis: Comfortably the longest-tenured member of UCF’s team, Warakulnukroh once served as the program’s student manager. He tallied his first career steal in a Dec. 1 win over Cal Baptist, and he had rebounds in each of the two Big 12 games he played.

Devan Cambridge

• Jersey number: 35
• Height: 6-6
• Weight: 210
• Position: Forward
• Eligibility: Sixth-year senior
• Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
• 2024-25 stats (at Texas Tech): Six games (two starts), 105 minutes played, 59.1% field goals (13 for 22), 57.1% 3-point shooting (5 for 7), 75% free throws (3 for 4), 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds per game
• Analysis: Cambridge prepares for his seventh season of college basketball after being granted a medical hardship waiver. A knee injury suffered in December 2023 limited the wing to just 14 games in two years for Texas Tech. He’s a career 29.3% shooter from 3-point range, setting a career high for makes (41) while at Auburn in 2020-21. Cambridge’s father, Desmond, holds the NCAA’s all-time, single-season record for steals with 160 for Alabama A&M in 2001-02.

Jordan Burks

• Jersey number: 99
• Height: 6-9
• Weight: 205
• Position: Forward
• Eligibility: Junior
• Hometown: Decatur, Ala.
• 2024-25 stats (at Georgetown): 34 games (11 starts), 632 minutes played, 52.1% field goals (76 for 146), 35.6% 3-point shooting (16 for 45), 68.4% free throws (26 for 38), 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds per game
• Analysis: Burks blossomed with a bump in playing time down the stretch for the Hoyas, averaging 10.4 points and recording a pair of double-doubles over his last nine games (all starts). For the year, he added 26 steals and 17 blocks. Burks was a part of John Calipari’s final recruiting class at Kentucky, where he suited up for 20 games and had a 13-point outing against Vanderbilt on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor.