A New Chapter for UCF Basketball
The UCF men’s basketball program announced that head coach Johnny Dawkins has signed a three-year contract extension, guaranteeing his stay through the 2028-29 season. The agreement was revealed alongside a celebration of the team’s recent achievements, underscoring a period of stability at the helm of the Knights.
During the 2025-26 campaign, Dawkins guided the squad to a 12-1 start and finished the regular season with a 21-12 record, marking the second consecutive 20-win season under his direction. The team set program marks for scoring average, posting 80.7 points per game, and posted an 11-game winning streak, the longest since the 2010-11 season.
The Knights capped the year with a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, earning a matchup against seventh-seeded UCLA in Philadelphia that ended in a narrow 75-71 defeat. The run was especially impressive given the wholesale turnover of the roster, making UCF one of only two schools nationwide to reach the tournament without returning any scholarship scoring production from the previous year.
Beyond the win-loss column, the season produced three victories over ranked opponents — Kansas, Texas Tech and BYU — adding to Dawkins’ career tally of 12 wins against Top-25 teams. The performance not only reinforced the program’s ascent in the Big 12 but also positioned the Knights as a resilient force despite the challenges of a rebuilt lineup.