UCF Basketball Teams Add First Transfers Of Offseason
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The UCF Knights basketball teams have both made their first transfer portal moves of the offseason over the weekend.
1. Men: Isaiah Malone, FGCU
NEWS: Florida Gulf Coast transfer Isaiah Malone has committed to UCF, @LeagueRDY has learned.
— Sam Kayser (@KayserHoops) April 12, 2026
The 6-foot-8 forward from Lagrange, Indiana spent one season at FGCU, starting 27 out of 34 games this season.
He averaged 10.5PPG, 5.8RPG and 1.9BPG this season. pic.twitter.com/D07pEAKLaV
Former Florida Gulf Coast forward Isaiah Malone committed to coach Johnny Dawkins and his Knights squad on Saturday night, Sam Kayser reported.
Hailing from Lagrange, Indiana, Malone spent his first two collegiate seasons at the NAIA's Saint Francis (Indiana) before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast last season. During that lone season in Ft. Myers, he started 27 of the 34 games he played en route to getting named the ASUN's Defensive Player of the Year. He led the conference and finished 31st in the nation with 1.88 blocks per game and pulled off 22 steals. He also averaged 10.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game.
While forwards Jordan Burks and center John Bol have not officially been confirmed to return to the Knights for the 2026-27 season, even if they did, they represent a UCF frontcourt that did not perform well last season in the same defensive categories that Malone did, particularly with blocks. The Knights finished last season ranked 237th in blocks per game and Malone's 64 blocks alone is 65.3% of their 98 total blocks as a team.
Additionally, Malone's average rebounds per game would put him just above Jon Bol's 5.5 rebounds per game for the second-most on the Knights this season.
With the statuses of Burks and Bol's return still up in the air, it remains to be seen if Malone's skillset lends itself more to being in the Knights' starting five or as a sixth-man off the bench a la Devan Cambridge last season.
2. Women: Mikayla Johnson, Pittsburgh
NEWS: Pitt transfer Mikayla Johnson has committed to UCF.
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 12, 2026
The 6-1 junior averaged 13 ppg and 5.1 rpg this season.
TRACKER: https://t.co/wYv1Ze6704 pic.twitter.com/VXnvmYzg0z
On the women's side, coach Gabe Lazo added the first transfer of his UCF tenure in former Pittsburgh guard Mikayla Johnson.
Johnson, an Anchorage, Alaska, native, started in 27 of the 28 games she played for the Panthers last season and her 75.8% shooting from the free-throw line was the 12th-best of the ACC. She averaged 13 points, the most on the team, and 5.1 rebounds per game. She also served as one of the Panthers' main deep threats, shooting the second-most shots from three-point range on the team, though she only sank 24.2% of them.
Orlando is going to be Johnson's third stop in her college basketball career. Before going to Pittsburgh, she played her first two seasons for Colorado, which were the program's last in the Pac-12.
With her versatility to both score and rebound, Johnson looks poised to take up the wing position, similar to that of guard/forward Summer Yancy last season. However, while Yancy came in off the bench to start before injuries pushed her to become part of the starting five later on, Johnson's experience starting at the Power 4 level could lend her to being part of the starting five from the jump.
However, with Johnson only being the first of Lazo's additions to the program, her role could change depending on other commitments he's able to get.
The women's and men's college basketball transfer portal windows are set to remain open through April 20 and 21, respectively.
Catch up on more UCF news below:
The 2026-27 UCF Knights Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker
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.
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