Skip to main content
Inside The Knights

UCF Knights 2026 Basketball Recruiting Class Breakdown: Best Additions, Biggest Misses

Follow along as the UCF Knights men's and women's basketball programs build their 2026-27 recruiting class. This real-time tracker features the programs' additions, misses, and remaining questions.
Bryson Turner|
Feb 8, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins works the sideline against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Feb 8, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins works the sideline against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

In this story:

UCF Knights

While the transfer portal may dominate much of the offseason conversation in college basketball, new players still join its ranks every year. The UCF Knights are no exception.

While a majority of UCF's men's and women's basketball teams are set to feature players migrating to Orlando from other schools, non-transfer portal additions still remain a part of the team's recruitment efforts.

So, while our basketball transfer tracker continues to monitor new additions to the Knights from that recruitment channel, this tracker evaluates the recruiting efforts from both teams in terms of bringing in new collegiate basketball players for the 2026-27 season.

  1. Men's Basketball Additions
  2. Men's Basketball Misses
  3. How Men's Basketball Recruiting Class Stacks Up Nationally
  4. Women's Basketball Additions
  5. Women's Basketball Misses
  6. Questions Still Remaining

Men's Basketball Additions

Ladarius Givan, Forward

At the time of writing, the only new addition for coach Johnny Dawkins' 2026-27 squad that did not come from the transfer portal is Ladarius Givan, who committed to the Knights on May 11 after decommitting from Mississippi State back in January. He chose the Knights over the Bulldogs, plus LSU, Seton Hall, Indiana and NC State.

Labeled a three-star power forward by 247Sports, Givan is listed as the eighth-highest-rated recruit in program history, just above Tacko Fall. He is coming off a senior season at Petersburg High School in Virginia, in which he averaged 15.5 points per game and a team-leading 12.1 rebounds per game.

While the Knights might already have experienced big men coming in from the transfer portal like Churchill Abass and Isaiah Malone to help complement a returning Jon Bol, Givan could prove to be a valuable depth piece at either power forward or center during his freshman season.

Men's Basketball Misses

Christian Gibson, Guard

Four-star guard Christian Gibson initially committed to the Knights in September, but ended up decommitting in late April.

Gibson would have been the fourth-highest rated recruit in Knights history had he signed with the program, according to 247Sports.com. Though his ranking in the class of 2026 has been slipping, going No. 58 on the ESPN100 list at the time of his commitment to off the list entirely as of the time of writing.

Gibson's decommitment announcement came less than an hour after he was publicly announced as a new client of OG6 Sports Management, which itself publicly named Chris Wash, UCF's former general manager, as its new President of Basketball Operations the day before.

Donovan Williams Jr., Guard

Just shy of two weeks after Gibson's decommitment, another UCF commit, three-star guard Donovan Williams Jr. officially announced he was flipping his commitment from the Knights to Georgia via an Instagram post.

Williams, an Orlando native, had been committed to the Knights since Oct. 15, with the program even officially announcing his signing on Nov. 19. He is coming off playing his senior season at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, where he led the team with 17.6 points per game. He also averaged 2.1 assists per game and 5.8 rebounds per game while also making 45% of his three-point shots.

How Men's Basketball Recruiting Class Stacks Up Nationally

With only Givan to show for their non-transfer portal recruiting efforts, the Knights rank 12th in the Big 12 and 124th in the nation in 247Sports' composite rankings and 13th in the conference and 107th in the nation in On3/Rivals' rankings.

Women's Basketball Additions

Salome Boyomo, Forward

Forward Salome Boyomo is the first addition to the UCF women's basketball program under new coach Gabe Lazo that did not come from the transfer portal.

Boyomo, standing at 6'2" and hailing from Poitiers, France, is set to arrive in Orlando from the European basketball scene. Specifically, she is coming off two seasons with a top-flight Croatian club based in the city of Dubrovnik, ZKK Ragusa, which has won five consecutive Premijer ženska liga titles from 2021 to 2025.

Despite playing in just 224 minutes across nine games in the 2025-26 season, Boyomo still averaged 11.4 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. This is a slight regression from her 2024-25 season averages, 13.1 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game, though she did play 16 games in that one.

Boyomo adds to a frontcourt that is retaining Mahogany Chander-Roberts and Jasmynne Gibson from last season, as well as adding former Miami (FL) center Candace Kpetikou through the transfer portal.

Jabria Lindsey, Guard

A 5'8" combo guard from Phenix City, Alabama, Jabria Lindsey originally announced her signing with the Knights back on Nov. 23, under the previous coaching staff headed by Sytia Messer.

The 2026 McDonald's All-American nominee is coming off a senior season at Central High School that was shortened due to an ACL tear she suffered before it began. She managed to return to the team in January and got to play in 15 games, averaging a team-leading 17.9 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game, according to MaxPreps. She also shot 48% from the floor.

With Lazo bringing in a couple of young guards from the transfer portal in Nyla McFadden and Caitlyn Jones, Lindsey is going to need to impress in camp if she wants to get playing time right away. However, given her ACL tear, there is the chance that Lazo goes with a cautious approach and keeps her off the court for a season to ensure she does not re-injure her knee.

Women's Basketball Misses

Kamrah Banks, Guard

Following the Knights' coaching change from Messer to Lazo, four-star guard Kamrah Banks elected to reopen her recruitment and ended up signing with Penn State in late April.

During her senior season at Crispus Attucks High School, Banks averaged 20.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, according to MaxPreps.

Questions Still Remaining

Men: Can Dawkins close the deal on Givan?

The Knights have lost two guard recruits during this offseason, so with Givan's status still being a commitment and not a signee, it is not necessarily a 100% guarentee, yet he becomes a Knight. Dawkins still needs to fend off other schools looking to flip his commitment.

Women: Does Lazo bring in a high school recruit?

Aside from his transfer portal additions, Lazo has only brought in one international signing and inherited a high school recruit from the previous staff. The question of whether or not he brings in a player from the class of 2026 is an interesting one, since it could provide insight into his recruiting strategy.

Catch up on more UCF news below:

The 2026-27 UCF Knights Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

One UCF Knights Transfer Who Will Help Ease NFL Losses — and One Who Won't

UCF Brings In Linebacker From Across The Pond

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Bryson Turner
BRYSON TURNER

Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.

Share on XFollow itsBrysonTurner
Home/Basketball