ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF men’s basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins has agreed to a three-year contract extension, which will keep him with the Knights through the 2029-30 season.
The extension follows a successful season where Dawkins led the Knights to the NCAA Tournament, marking the second at-large berth in program history. The 2025-26 campaign saw UCF open with a 12-1 start, the best under Dawkins, and finish Big 12 play with a 9- 9 record, the program’s best since joining the league ahead of the 2023-24 season. Overall, the Black and Gold finished the year with a 21-12 record, securing their second consecutive 20-win season under Dawkins.
The 2025-26 season was notable for the Knights averaging 80.7 points per game, which is the highest scoring average under Dawkins and the most by a Knights team in the Division I era.
The Knights earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they faced No. 7 seed UCLA in Philadelphia, losing 75-71.
This NCAA Tournament berth was achieved despite an unprecedented roster overhaul, as UCF was one of only two teams in the country, alongside Miami, to reach the tournament without returning any scoring production from the previous year’s roster.
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