UCF Men's Basketball Retains First Players Of 2026 Offseason
The UCF men's basketball team is not going to lose all of its scoring production this offseason.
On Friday afternoon, two Knights guards confirmed their returns to the program for the 2026-27 season.
1. Carmelo Pacheco
Back in Orlando 🤝 | @MeloPacheco1 pic.twitter.com/Zzr17Fa2Cs
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) April 10, 2026
Guard Carmelo Pacheco was the first of the two, with his return officially announced via the program's social media accounts, which he confirmed by collaborating on the Knights' Instagram post with his own account. This also made him the first Knight to officially confirm he is playing for UCF in 2026-27.
Pacheco did not make a start this past season, but came off the bench in 31 games. Of the 118 shots he took, 109 of them were from three-point range. He converted on 39.4% of his three-point shots this past season, which led the team and helped him average 4.6 points per game.
Following UCF's Nov. 11 win over Florida A&M, in which Pacheco scored 17 points thanks in part to going 5-6 from three-point range, coach Johnny Dawkins said Pacheco was "in line" with former UCF players he coached like his own son, Aubrey Dawkins, and Matt Williams, UCF's record-holder for most career three-pointers, and that he "can be one of those guys" for the Knights as well.
"Anytime you can recruit a young man like Carmelo, who shoots the ball that well, you know, we were very excited that he committed to us, because we thought he'd fit our system very well the way he shoots the basketball," Dawkins said.
2. Arturo Dean
BREAKING: PG Arturo Dean (@ArturoDean12) has signed with UCF, he tells TPR.
— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) April 10, 2026
Dean last played for Oklahoma State in 24-25, where he averaged 11PPG, 4.1RPG, 3.7APG, and 2.5SPG. pic.twitter.com/sacJapZMAt
Following the Knights' announcement about Pacheco's return, guard Arturo Dean was reported to be returning to for the 2026-27 season by The Portal Report. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy redshirted the 2025-26 season after initially committing to the program in October before officially joining in December.
"I love how hard he defends," Dawkins said on Dec. 17 after UCF's win over Mercer. "He just really gets after it defensively. He's like a whirlwind out there."
In his one season at Oklahoma State in 2024-25, Dean started 21 of the 37 games, averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, went 64-93 from the free-throw line and recorded 116 assists. He also recorded 84 steals, leading the Big 12 and ranking sixth in the nation. It was also one more steal than UCF's own Darius Johnson that season.
Before playing at Oklahoma State, Dean, a Miami native, played two seasons at Florida International, during which he was named Conference USA's Freshman of the Year before leading the nation with 104 steals the following season.
Having never averaged less than 3.4 assists per game in any season in his career, Dean puts himself in the position to serve as a point guard for the Knights. Whether he serves as a starting point guard or a threat off the bench remains to be determined.
The NCAA men's basketball transfer portal window is slated to remain open through April 21.
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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