Walk into the office of UCF men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins and one of the first things that jumps out from the treasure trove of memorabilia is a two-toned basketball sitting on his desk.
The ball, painted half white and featuring the 2026 NCAA Basketball Tournament logo, is a new addition to Dawkins’ collection and a reminder of the Knights’ recent return to March Madness.
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It had been almost eight seasons since UCF last earned an NCAA Tourney bid in 2018-19. Still, the Knights (21-12, 9-9 Big 12) found a way back despite facing the challenges of playing with an entirely new roster — 13 newcomers — and navigating through a difficult Big 12 schedule.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first-round loss to UCLA, the realization of its finality began to settle in.
“It’s always tough,” Dawkins recently told the Orlando Sentinel. “You work so hard for those moments and in that tournament, there are no do-overs. You either do it and keep going or it’s over and the season ends right there.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time for reminiscing because a new clock begins, this one counting down until the start of the 2026-27 season.
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“You come to the reality that it’s over and now what?” said Dawkins. “For us, that’s what now becomes immediate. What’s your roster going to look like for the next year? Are you going to retain most of these guys or are they going elsewhere? You start going right into that mode.”
Dawkins and his staff knew they would have to replace several key contributors from last season, including senior starting guards Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel, starting forward Jamichael Stillwell, reserve forward Devan Cambridge and reserve guard George Beale Jr.
Starting small forward Jordan Burks and guards Chris Johnson, Kris Parker, Zach Johnson, and Poopha Warakulnukroh entered the transfer portal.
John Bol, who started every game at center, returned, as did reserve guards Carmelo Pacheco and Tanner Jones and reserve center Elijah Hulsewe. Point guard Arturo Dean, who was a midseason addition, also returned.
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Returning five players was a welcome sight for Dawkins, who has had to replace 50 players over the past five seasons.
“Last year, we really didn’t have very much continuity at all,” he said. “We’ve got 11 new guys this year, but at least we return a starter (Bol) from the Big 12 that had success. We return a guy like Pacheco, who played a key role in what we were doing and we get Arturo Dean, who didn’t play but practiced with us and was a part of the whole experience … and Elijah, who has been with us from a walk-on to a scholarship player.
“Bringing back four guys who actually played for us does give us some continuity. We’re not starting from scratch like last year.”
The Knights added seven transfers, including guards Cayden Vasko, Dior Johnson and Mister Dean, forwards Lewis Walker, Churchill Abass, Isaiah Malone and Jason Asemota. The team also signed three freshmen: forwards Ladarius Givan and Dylan Mann and guard Jahda Swann.
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UCF’s philosophy in the transfer market has simply been to build a roster capable of competing day in and day out in the Big 12.
“We have to prepare ourselves for this conference and what I’ve been learning over the years is we need Big 12 bodies,” Dawkins said. “We need a certain type of look out there in order to compete against the physicality that we’re going to face on a nightly basis.
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“I thought this past year we were close to being what we want physically, so we want to continue to build on that again this year.”
The Knights finished with a program-record nine Big 12 wins this past season, including resume-building victories over No. 17 Kansas, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 19 BYU. The 66-65 win over Cincinnati in the conference tournament helped lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
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Dawkins, 62, credits his coaching staff for helping spot players that could help the Knights as well as preparing them for the rigors of a challenging 18-game conference schedule.
One of the things the group focused on this offseason was shoring up the team defensively.
UCF averaged 80.7 points on offense while allowing 78.4 points per game this past season. Dawkins’ teams have allowed slightly under 70 points per game since his arrival in 2016.
“We’ve been really good the last couple of years offensively, but I don’t think we’ve been who we’ve been traditionally defensively,” said Dawkins. “We’ve got to find that balance.”
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Many of the offseason transfers bring much-needed experience and a variety of skill sets to the team. The hope is to spend the next few weeks of the offseason camp meshing those skills and personalities.
Another offseason move for the Knights was securing Dawkins to a new 3-year contract extension, keeping him with the program through the 2028-29 season.
“I always coach the same way, like every year is my last year,” Dawkins said. “I’m grateful to our president, foremost, and athletic director Terry Mohajir for believing in me and allowing me to do what I do.
“I love UCF and I want us to realize our potential and accomplish things that we can accomplish.”
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Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
