Despite losing star talent to lucrative NIL deals, Johnny Dawkins continues to rebuild winning rosters through the transfer portal, earning high praise for maintaining UCF's competitive momentum.
Johnny Dawkins has witnessed a massive roster turnaround in his 10 years coaching at UCF, but he's found a way to record back-to-back 20-win seasons, culminating in an NCAA Tournament appearance this past season.
UCF vice president and athletic director Terry Mohajir appeared on the "Smoak Show" on 365 Sports on Tuesday and complimented Dawkins' ability to have consecutive winning seasons despite players leaving for more money or playing opportunities elsewhere.
“Johnny Dawkins has had a bunch of guys that were not highly sought after in the portal,” Mohajir said. “They’ve all left for millions of dollars, and he’s still maintained to have two back-to-back 20-win seasons. You see a lot of momentum there, so we’re really excited about him as well.”
After the 2024-25 season, Dawkins lost the team's leading scorer, Keyshawn Hall. He averaged 18.8 points, which also led the conference. Hall chose more NIL money over heading to the NBA draft and transferred to Auburn.
Hall wasn't the only scorer lost; Darius Johnson and Jordan Ivy-Curry were other significant scorers whose eligibility expired. The Knights had no returning scorers heading into the 2025-26 season and had to rebuild their roster through the April transfer portal.
Dawkins added several players who played crucial roles in UCF's journey to the NCAA Tournament. Riley Kugel, Themus Fulks, Jamichael Stillwell and Jordan Burks became the new leading scorers for the program this past season.
Kugel led the team in scoring with 14.4 points and Fulks wasn't far behind with 0.4 fewer points. Burks averaged 13.3 points, and Stillwell averaged 11.6 points, while leading the team in rebounding.
The team lost most of its scoring once again, with Kugel and Fulks entering the NBA draft after their eligibility expired, and Stillwell and Burks entering the transfer portal.
Dawkins and UCF had to become active in the portal once more to add more scoring to its roster. However, it was not a complete rebuilding process, as Carmelo Pacheco, John Bol and Elijah Hulsewe confirmed their return to the program.
Despite the explosion of the transfer portal and NIL, Dawkins has found ways to add talent that match up with his defensive philosophy, can score and lead UCF to NCAA Tournament appearances.
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