Can UCF Men's Basketball Get Riley Kugel Back?
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As legal drama surrounding college athletics eligibility continues to unfold across the country, a pair of former UCF Knights were handed a favorable court ruling on Thursday.
Former UCF guard Riley Kugel, from the basketball team, and defensive back Phillip Dunnam, from the football team, were both plaintiffs in a Dallas County lawsuit and were awarded a temporary restraining order from Judge Martin Hoffman on Thursday according to court records.
The order ruled that all the plaintiffs were allowed to compete in college athletics for the 2026-27 season and that any bylaw from the named defendants in the suit, the NCAA and the SEC, could not preclude them from doing so, even if they had completed four seasons of eligibility or signed a professional contract. The order also ordered the transfer portal to be open to plaintiffs for one week starting from when the order was issued on Thursday.
"To be clear, it is the Court's intention to place Plaintiffs in the position they were in at the end of their last college sports season," Hoffman wrote in the order. "As long as they would have been eligible to continue playing college sports in the following semester if they had a fifth year of eligibility, they are eligible today."
The order also compels the NCAA to appear before the court on the afternoon of Sep. 11 to show cause for why a temporary injunction should not be issued on the same terms as the restraining order.
The ramifications of this order for both Kugel and Dunnam are slightly different due to their individual circumstances, so they are going to be addressed separately below:
Riley Kugel
— Riley “ Juice ” Kugel (@RileyKugel) August 21, 2026
While Kugel returning to UCF cannot be ruled out, based on available reporting at the time of this article's writing, there are a few obstacles that could stand in the way of it happening.
One such obstacle is the transfer portal, which allows Kugel to find another school that could present him with a better offer than UCF can. Texas Tech did so with forward Jamichael Stillwell back in July, and now it could happen with Kugel as well; and since the order also prevents the SEC from enforcing their professional player ban, it makes it easier for the former Florida and Mississippi State guard to return to the conference he played in for three seasons before he became a Knight.
All that aside, suppose that Kugel actively wants to return to the Knights. This would then bring up another obstacle: the Big 12 Conference, which was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. It, like the SEC, also implemented a ban on professional players at member schools, and since it was not named as a defendant in Kugel's lawsuit, it is not directly affected by this case.
However, there could be some uncertainty on this front as well. Since the SEC was prohibited from enforcing its rules thanks to the Dallas County ruling, the precedent may now be set for other conferences to be prohibited from enforcing their rules should they be challenged. So, Kugel could just sue the Big 12 on his own and obtain a separate ruling.
Official statement from the Big 12 Conference. pic.twitter.com/QWiHdvoZ4N
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) August 26, 2026
This may seem like a lot of time and effort, and patience on UCF's end of things, to bring back one player to coach Johnny Dawkins' squad. However, Kugel was a central figure in the Knights' run to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019.
Kugel led the Knights in scoring on a per-game basis in 2025-26, averaging 14.4 points per game. This was thanks in part to Kugel being one of Dawkins' primary weapons from the three-point line, where he went 58-150 for the season, only finishing behind forward Jordan Burks. He also recorded 32 steals.
Following the completion of the 2025-26 season, Kugel declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, and after going undrafted, signed an NBA Summer League contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. During those five Summer League games in Las Vegas, Kugel averaged eight minutes of playing time per game, went 7-17 from the floor, 4-9 from three-point range and pulled down four rebounds.
Back on Aug. 1, On3 reported that Kugel was exploring a return to college basketball, and now, thanks to this order, he might be able to. However, since the college basketball season does not start until November, he is going to need Hoffman to order a temporary injunction on Sep. 11 in order for him to play. So, whether Kugel plays in the 2026-27 season or not based on those terms is still up in the air and is the prerequisite for addressing the aforementioned obstacles that could get in the way of a potential return to UCF.
Phillip Dunnam
Former UCF standout safety Phillip Dunnam plans to enter the transfer portal, his agency @LAASportsEnt tells @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 27, 2026
Was an All-Big 12 selection last year and took part in rookie minicamp with the Titans. Was granted a TRO today that gives him another year of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/HgxAMWIrrn
Phillip Dunnam's case has a simpler answer. He is not going to return to the Knights, not only because he entered the transfer portal, according to a report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, but also because he was eligible to do so before and did not.
Back when Judge Charlotte Sweeney's ruling in the Wisne v. NCAA case was still in effect, both Dunnam and linebacker Cole Kozlowski were eligible to rejoin the Knights' roster since neither had signed a professional contract. However, while Kozlowski did return to Orlando, Dunnam did not.
When asked about Dunnam on Aug. 11, UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said it was "all about roster spots," so "if the conversation happened, it was based on availability."
This reasoning remains consistent with a Twitter/X post Dunnam made following Sweeney's injunction on Aug. 4.
"So if our previous school doesn’t have a roster opening for us we reap no benefits of the ruling?" Dunnam wrote.
So if our previous school doesn’t have a roster opening for us we reap no benefits of the ruling? Correct? 🤷
— Phillip Dunnam † (@DunnamPhillip) August 4, 2026
Considering the Knights are already returning most of their defensive backs from last season, and they brought in players like Caleb Flagg, Matt Irwin, Kahmel Johnson and FCS All-AmericanTy Bartrum from the transfer portal, the secondary is not a position group they particularly needed to add players to.
So, with the order allowing plaintiffs to enter the transfer portal, Dunnam is taking advantage of that to find a team that does have a roster spot available for another defensive back in 2026.
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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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