More UCF Players Confirm Their Returns For 2026
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The transfer portal is still a few weeks away from opening, but several UCF Knights players are already announcing their plans to return to Orlando in 2026.
Wide reciever Waden Charles was the first to do so last week, and now three more Knights join him.
1. Duane Thomas Jr., Wide Receiver
A transfer from Charlotte, Duane Thomas Jr. finished this season as the Knights' leading receiver, recording 53 receptions for 528 yards, though no touchdowns.
Thomas was also involved in the rushing attack, getting 14 carries for 45 yards.
He was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for his efforts.
2. Caden Piening, Tight End
Let’s go Knight Nation⚔️ 26… pic.twitter.com/5dnWUN1i00
— Caden Piening (@CadenPiening) December 9, 2025
Freshman tight end Caden Piening is returning to UCF for his second season of college football.
The Cincinnati native struggled with injuries this season, first a fall camp "soft tissue" injury, then another one later in the season that held him out of six games in Big 12 play, only returning by Week 13 to play in UCF's final two games.
All told, Piening played in just four games this season, starting one of them, without recording a reception. By virtue of playing in only four games, Piening is eligible to have this season count as his redshirt season, preserving his fourth year of eligibility.
3. Justin Royes, Offensive Lineman
Let’s do it again knight nation 💪🏾 #ucf #ucfknights #26loadin pic.twitter.com/75sHrWa1bL
— Justin Royes (@justin_royes) December 8, 2025
Virginia Union transfer Justin Royes was the second player, alongside wide receiver Ric'Darious “DayDay” Farmer, who was ruled out for the season right as fall camp began.
However, the sophomore out of Suffolk, Virginia, managed to recover quickly enough to take the field once in UCF's final game of the season against BYU, coming in off the bench.
Royes started eight of the nine games he played in 2024 in his last season at Virginia Union, a Division II school that made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament that season.
While these announcements provide indications of where these UCF players are leaning in terms of their decision to enter the transfer portal or not, they remain just words for now, since the portal does not open until Jan. 2.
UCF Wide Receiver Announces Intent To Return For 2026
Freshman wide receiver Waden Charles announced his plans to return to the UCF Knights for the 2026 season on Thursday evening.
The former four-star recruit out of Boynton Beach took to X to make his announcement on the same day that two of his teammates, cornerback Jyaire Brown and tight end Kylan Fox, revealed their plans to enter the transfer portal. Charles marks the first Knight to publicly announce his commitment to return.
"Unfinished business!! Let’s run it back Knight Nation… " Charles wrote.
Charles started in half of the Knights' 12 games in his debut season. His 26 passes for 290 yards put him third on the team in receiving, with about 60% of those yards coming in the last four games.
"I came here with high expectations to come in and help this team right away, and they gave me opportunities to do that, and then that's what I'm just gonna keep doing," Charles said on Nov. 24 before UCF's final game of the season against No. 11 BYU.
While he would go on to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, quarterback Tayven Jackson cited Charles, alongside tight end Dylan Wade, as two players the Knights had to get back for the next season.
For now, all announcements regarding the transfer portal remain just words, since the portal does not open until Jan. 2.
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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