On Saturday, Johnny Dawkins and the UCF Knights added their first player through the transfer portal with the commitment of Riley Kugel.
Kugel, a 6-foot-5 guard from Orlando, Florida, spent the previous season at Mississippi State after starting his career off at Florida.
Last season with the Bulldog, Kugel posted 9.3 points, three rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. He also connected on 43.3% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three, and 75.4% from the foul line.
Coming out of Dr. Phillips High School in the Class of 2022, Kugel was listed as a four-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 56th-ranked prospect. He also checked in as the fourth-ranked player at his position and the 11th-ranked player in the state of Florida.
The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, March 24, 2025. According to NCAA data, 1,296 FBS basketball players entered the transfer portal in the 2023-24 school year, with 864 (66.7%) undergraduates and 432 (33.3%) graduate transfers. Of the entrants, 70% reported that they enrolled in another school, 6% withdrew their names from the portal, and 23% are still active, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport.
The Heartland College Sports Twitter account is an excellent resource for keeping up with the latest Big 12 news and announcements. Make sure you check out our HCS member forum to connect with other Big 12 sports fans.
