UCF Basketball gets snubbed from Top 25
BY Adam Eaton | Sons of UCF
The weekly release of the AP Top 25 poll usually comes with little surprise to Big 12 programs, which are routinely littered throughout the stanza, particularly in the Top 10. However, when the latest poll dropped on Monday, the Big 12 internet was caught off guard by one decision – the omission of the surprising UCF Knights. The Knights are coming off their sixth conference win of the season, beating ranked Texas Tech 88-80. Despite that win, coupled with previous wins over Kansas and Texas A&M, it wasn’t enough to compel the voters to slot UCF among the Top 25.
On paper, leaving the Knights unranked is a head-scratcher. They currently sit 6th in the conference in winning percentage (17-4, 6-3) and 7th in the NET rankings. Of their four losses, three have been at the hands of Top 15 programs – Arizona, Iowa State, and Vanderbilt. And further, guard Themus Fulks has proven to be a national revelation, averaging 14 points and 7 assists per game.
All of this chatter is a stark change for a UCF program that has largely been stuck in mediocrity over the past ten seasons. Under head coach Johnny Dawkins, the Knights have made only one NCAA tournament appearance (2019) and have been relegated to either the NIT or The Crown in four other seasons. All told, the Knights have failed to finish higher than 4th in conference during their time in the American or as a Big 12 member.
The introduction of NIL and player compensation has also hit the Knights hard, as Dawkins and his staff have had to turn over essentially their entire roster each of the past three seasons, including the losses of leading scorers Keyshawn Hall (Auburn) and Jaylin Sellers (Providence) within the past two years.
All of these things added together created pockets of apathy within the fan base that has often dampened enthusiasm and stunted growth.
However, this current group of Knights seems to be heading in a different direction. New players, including Fulks, guard Riley Kugel, forward Jamichael Stillwell, and forward Jordan Burks, bring a veteran composure and presence that has paid off late in games. Instead of folding down the stretch, this version of the Knights has made crucial plays in high-pressure moments, finding ways to win games they would have probably lost in previous years.
Knight Nation is also fully embracing this team, evidenced by the raucous home court environment that greeted Texas Tech this past Saturday. Fans and students stood in unison late in the game to urge the Knights to victory. Heck, they even stormed the court… twice.
Perhaps the Top 25 snub will further galvanize this Knights team as they prepare for the final nine games of their conference schedule. It won’t be easy, though, as they make a trip to Houston on Wednesday night to take on the 8th-ranked Cougars.
In Other News
Transfer Portal Strategy
UCF Football held a media session with head coach Scott Frost and general manager of player personnel Trent Mossbrucker last week to highlight the Knights’ transfer portal class. Frost shared that his goal was to get more experienced by bringing in players who had high-level production at their previous schools.
Mossbrucker gave some insight into his role of identifying and building a roster that fit the needs of the coaches, within the confines of the resources UCF had at its disposal.
Malzahn Retires
Former UCF head coach Gus Malzahn announced his retirement on Monday, ending a coaching career that spanned multiple decades across high school and college. Malzahn’s Knights’ tenure was met with some early results, going 18-9 in his first two seasons in the American Conference, including a conference championship game berth in 2022. However, the transition to the Big 12 saw UCF take a sharp decline, notching back-to-back losing seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Malzahn’s tenure also coincided with the start of the NIL era in college football, a transition that changed the nature of the game seemingly overnight. UCF cobbled together a strategy on the fly, but maneuvering through the move to the Big 12, while also adapting to player compensation, proved too much for the Knights and Malzahn, who resigned after the 2024 season to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State.
The Malzahn era will likely be an interesting discussion point amongst Knights fans for years to come. The results on the field certainly regressed over his tenure (28-24 in four seasons), and his inability to find and develop a quarterback loomed large over the program. However, Malzahn did help usher in a new era of Knights football and dealt with challenges that stressed a growing athletics program.
Perhaps his last act at UCF will be his most remembered: leaving the Knights of his own volition, saving a reported $12 million in salary buyout, a figure that would have been detrimental to the long-term health of the program.