Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff

Welcome to UCF Knights on SI's countdown to kickoff!

In this series, we are going to introduce you to every single player on the 2026 UCF football roster so that you can know what to expect from them or even pinpoint the ones you want to follow throughout the coming season. We are going to go through the Knights' roster in reverse jersey-number order, with the day each player's entry is published corresponding to the number of days remaining until UCF's season-opener on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.

So, with nine days to go, let's meet UCF wide receiver Waden Charles:

Who is Waden Charles?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Waden Charles?

Position: Wide Receiver

Class: Sophomore

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2 / 195 pounds

Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida

High School: Somerset Canyons High School

Waden Charles has become one of the Knights' more publicly visible players, not just for earning playing time last season as a freshman, but also by becoming a co-host of Season 2 UCFast Cast alongside fellow receiver Duane Thomas Jr., who said the young wideout helped him become more vocal.

"He helped me out last year a lot, just being on a vocal standpoint, just helping me lead the other guys in that room last year, and he's been doing the same thing this year,' Thomas Jr. said. "He's going to do an amazing job. Y'all going to be able to see him make plays and see a lot more."

2. What did he do last season?

Charles made the most of his first college football season, playing in all 12 of the Knights' games last season and starting six of them. He caught 26 passes for 290 yards, the third-most by a UCF receiver in 2025.

3. What role is he going to have in 2026?

With Charles' increased receptions late in the 2025 season, momentum is seemingly on his side to become a starter for the Knights in 2026.

Following an April 18 practice session, wide receivers coach Sean Beckton called Charles one of the leaders of the position group.

"I knew last year that he was going to be a leader in this program, and he doesn't know it, but a lot of times, I depend on him to get after some of the other guys in other spots on offense sometimes, and, you know, that's part of him continue to grow and showing that he can lead this offense," Beckton said.

The biggest question remaining for Charles is just how much of a target share he is going to get in 2026; something muddled by the return of Thomas Jr., tight end Dylan Wade, the recovery of DayDay Farmer and the arrival of transfers like Josh Derry and Jonathan Bibbs and true freshman Tyren Hornes.

However, regardless of how quarterback Alonza Barnett III distributes targets, his position as a young leader for the Knights remains firm.

"It's definitely, definitely something that I take a lot of pride in," Charles said during the Knights' local media day. "I appreciate my coaching staff and all the players that believe in me and trust in me and my abilities on and off the field, just to be that leader for them."

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

No. 10 Kaleb Annett and Sincere Edwards


No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley	No. 12 Keyone Jenkins and Aymeric Koumba	No. 13 Caleb Rollerson	No. 14 Alonza Barnett III and Kahmel Johnson	No. 15 Will Stone and Preston Hall
No. 16 Dante Carr and TJ Branch	No. 17 Jailen Duffie	No. 18 Caleb Flagg and Caden Piening	No. 19 Rashad Henry	No. 20 Lewis Carter and Kaj Baker
No. 21 Ty Bartrum	No. 22 Amarion Queen	No. 23 Jordan Nunuha and Jayden Burnett	No. 24 Tackett Curtis and Arthur Lewis IV	No. 25 Rukeem Stroud
No. 26 Duke Watson and Elijah Keys	No. 27 Nicholas Antoine	No. 28 Matt Irwin	No. 29 Tyce Porcher	No. 30 Otis Hardy
No. 31 Noah McGough	No. 32 Matthew Occhipinti	No. 33 Phil Picciotti	No. 34 Jahleel Culbreath	No. 35 Agyeman Addae
No. 36 Dylan Bennett	No. 37 Rocklyn Kelley	No. 38 Jayden Jennings	No. 39 Andrea Parisi	No. 41 Bruno Dall
No. 42 Artavius Jones and Chance Nixon	No. 43 Cole Kozlowski	No. 44 Kyle Hicks	No. 45 Quentin Hatch	No. 47 Arthur Kingdom and Sam Powell
No. 49 Atticus Bertrams and Donnell Johnson III	No. 53 LaParka Langston	No. 54 Cooper Terpstra and Trenton Turner	No. 55 Jacob Maiava and Noah Mercer	No. 56 Patrick Ryan
No. 57 Camp Lott	No. 58 Connor Meadows	No. 61 Owen Spell	No. 66 Brady Wayburn	No. 67 Noah Senka
No. 68 Ethan Higgins	No. 70 RaiShaun McHaney	No. 71 Amahn Williams	No. 72 Dominick Campbell	No. 73 Henry Tabansi
No. 74 Matthew Prigmore	No. 75 Tyler Gibson	No. 76 Justin Royes	No. 77 Kasiyah Charlton	No. 78 Preston Cushman
No. 79 Daniel Marcellinus	No. 80 Elijah Hardy	No. 81 Zack Palmer	No. 82 Jordyn Bridgewater	No. 83 Dylan Burk
No. 84 Thomas Wadsworth	No. 85 Carson Hinshaw	No. 86 Chase Hinshaw	No. 87 Brooks Hall	No. 88 Grayson Brousseau
No. 90 Mujahid Jefferson	No. 91 Donteye Drew	No. 92 Jeffson Lafontant	No. 93 Brad Gurley	No. 94 L A Jesse Harrold
No. 95 RJ Jackson Jr.	No. 96 Anthony Coaxum	No. 97 Josh Schell and Mason Denaberg	No. 98 Alhassan Iddrissu	No. 99 Thomas Collins

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