UCF Basketball scuffling; Scott Frost in the news again
By: Adam Eaton | Sons of UCF
The UCF men’s basketball team has been a pleasant surprise amongst many in Knight Nation over the course of the 2025-26 season. Wins against ranked opponents, coupled with gritty road wins, have firmly positioned the Knights as an NCAA Tournament team, at least according to the bracketologists and prognosticators. However, the optimism of January has turned into the fear of February, where the Knights have lost three straight heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs. Losses on the road to Houston and Cincinnati were bearable, but blowing a double-digit second-half lead at home to West Virginia is a tough pill to swallow.
This stretch of futility for the Knights has been marked by offensive struggles from several key players, including their top three scorers, Themus Fulks, Riley Kugel, and Jordan Burks. Fulks is averaging just 9 points in the last three games (including a bagel at Cincy), well below his average of nearly 14 points per game. Meanwhile, Kugel and Burks have been struggling from the field, shooting 29% and 30%, down from their season averages of 40% and 45%, respectively. Plus, inside force Jamichael Stillwell missed the West Virginia game with an ankle injury, creating a big gap on the low block for the Knights.
If UCF (sitting at 6-6 in conference play) wants to solidify that tournament berth, they are going to have to re-group in a hurry to close out the final six games with at least a .500 record. With road matchups against Utah, BYU, and West Virginia, it will be vital that the Knights protect home court against TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. [Editor’s note: By the time you read this article, the Knights will have already played TCU.]
Around the Kingdom
Scott Frost and Nebraska are back in the news
Scott Frost was fired as Nebraska head football coach in September of 2022, and yet his tenure with the Huskers routinely finds its way back into the news cycle every few months. To be fair, Frost himself has played a role in this, creating several Nebraska-centric headlines since he returned to UCF.
However, this latest round of talking points can be attributed to Bill Moos, the former Nebraska athletics director who made several mentions of Frost in his soon-to-be-released autobiography. Perhaps the most headline-inducing story is Moos recounting how he thought Frost was too immature for the Huskers’ job, but hired him anyway based on pressure from fans and administrators.
Frost has also shared a similar sentiment in the past year, describing the pressure he felt to take the Nebraska job after he led the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017. At his introductory press conference in Orlando in 2024, Frost said, “Sometimes when you are climbing the ladder of success, they forget to tell you to stop when you are happy.”
While hindsight certainly allows for a clearer view, ultimately, this all leads one to conclude that both Frost and Moos made a decision for the wrong reasons. And not shockingly, when that is the backdrop to the entrance of a newfound partnership, it is very likely to fail. Both men have now re-emerged into a new chapter of their professional journeys, and it is high time each sets their compass forward, as opposed to looking in the rear-view mirror.
Bat and Ball sports open strong
UCF Softball started its 2026 campaign with several impressive wins over top-ranked opponents through the first two weeks of the season. Projected to finish 5th in the preseason poll, the Knights (9-3, 0-0) rattled off two wins over Maryland, a win over Missouri, and a convincing result over 10th-ranked LSU. The hot start for the Knights saw them break into the Top 25 as they prepare to open the Space U Classic this upcoming weekend.
UCF Baseball celebrated opening weekend with a dominating sweep over Siena. The Knights scored 44 runs over three games, while surrendering just one. The competition will shift dramatically, though, with a mid-week game at Miami, and a weekend showcase featuring matchups with Notre Dame, Indiana, and LSU.
Ring Me
Congratulations to former Knights Shaquill Griffin and Amari Kight on winning Super Bowl LX as members of the Seattle Seahawks. They become the 14th and 15th former Knights to be crowned Super Bowl champions.