UCF men’s basketball lands first transfer commitment of 2026-27 season

UCF men’s basketball has landed its first transfer commitment for the 2026-27 season in former Florida Gulf Coast University forward Isaiah Malone.

The 6-foot-8, 175-pound Malone averaged 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, while connecting on 59% of his shots in 34 games (27 starts) for the Eagles last season. He was named the Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year for a team that was 16-18 overall, including 8-10 in the A-Sun.

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Prior to his time at FGCU, Malone played for two seasons at St. Francis (Ind.), an NAIA school, where he averaged 16.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore, while shooting 67.3% from the field.

A native of LaGrange, Ind., Malone led the conference in blocks (64) and was ninth in the league in offensive rebounds (61).

He joins a roster that features a pair of senior guards, Arturo Dean and Carmelo Pacheco, alongside incoming freshmen Christian Gibson and Donovan Williams.

Pacheco becomes the first player to announce his decision to return next season.

Guards Chris Johnson and Poopha Warakulnukroh announced their decisions to enter the transfer portal.

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UCF is coming off a 21-12 season in which the Knights made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

The Knights have to replace five players whose eligibility expired, led by Themus Fulks, Riley Kugel, Jamichael Stillwell, Devan Cambridge and George Beale Jr., who accounted for 71% of their scoring production (56.9 points per game) this past season.

Matt Murschel can be reached at [email protected]

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ucf-men-basketball-lands-first-132500190.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-12 13:25:00

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