American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson famously wrote that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
Riley Kugel’s basketball journey has been a winding road that has taken him from the local courts at Dr. Phillips to a 4-star recruit at Florida and Mississippi State, before finally returning home to Central Florida at UCF.
It wasn’t precisely where the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Kugel thought his career would be at this point.
“When I entered college, my goal was to do two years and then I’m gone, but things changed,” Kugel recently told the Orlando Sentinel. “Everything happens for a reason. It allowed me to be in a position where it could help make me a leader.”
Kugel signed as part of Todd Golden’s first recruiting class at Florida after a successful career at Dr. Phillips, where he helped lead the Panthers to their first-ever state championship in 2021.
He arrived in Gainesville with high hopes and even higher expectations at UF, which won the NCAA championship the year after he left the Gators.
The Orlando shooting guard appeared in 32 games his first season with the Gators, averaging 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 23 minutes per game. Kugel entered his sophomore season as a preseason All-SEC selection and a possible NBA first-round pick.
Yet, despite averaging 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 23 minutes in his second season at UF, things didn’t go as planned as Kugel found himself on the bench, particularly late in the season.
“The first two years at Florida, you’re going to be with the best players,” Kugel said. “They’re going to recruit the best. My first year, I was playing with Colin Castleton, the best center in the nation. In my second year, I was behind three All-American point guards. It helped me and humbled me.
Senior Riley Kugel (2) does interviews during UCF basketball media day, on Monday, October 13, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
“I was going to practice every day, looking at guys like Will Richard or Walter Clayton. They come in with the same energy every day. They’re everyday guys. I was following in their footsteps a little bit and catching little things that make them winners.”
Kugel believes he could have entered the NBA draft after his second season, but he wouldn’t have been as high a draft pick. After sitting down with his family, he decided to enter the transfer portal.
“Everybody has a different decision as to what they want you to do, but I had to make an executive decision for my future, what I thought would be best for me,” Kugel explained. “I thought, what’s the one thing everybody says I’m not good at? Defense. So, why not go to a school where the main focus is defense?”
That decision led to Kugel transferring to Mississippi State, where he appeared in 33 games, averaging 9.3 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes per game.
Shortly after the season, he entered the portal again, initially committing to Kansas before ultimately returning to Orlando to play for Johnny Dawkins at UCF.
Kugel is one of 13 newcomers to join the Knights’ roster this season. He is also one of three seniors, along with fellow guard George Beale Jr. and forward Jamichael Stillwell.
“I came here to be a leader,” Kugel said. “To get mentored by Coach [Kelvin] Johnson and Coach Dawkins on how to be a leader. Not just being a vocal leader, but also showing it by working hard in practice, being the first in line during drills and setting an example for the rest of the team.
“As my game has gone on throughout my career, I wouldn’t say I was a leader. I was more of a ‘put me in the game and I’m going to get a bucket’ type of person.”
Added Dawkins: “Riley’s a talented player. He’s still a player who is learning our system and he’s still figuring out what he’s really capable of accomplishing on this level. He’s capable of playing at a level that a lot of guys can’t play at, but we have to make sure that he understands how to work on getting there.”
Kugel’s impact has been felt on the court, with the redshirt senior totaling 43 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in two exhibition games. He scored 22 points in a 96-71 loss at No. 6 Duke on Oct. 21. He followed that up by scoring 21 points with 7 assists in a 75-68 loss to LSU on Oct. 26.
UCF opens the season by hosting Hofstra on Monday, Nov. 3.
It’s a chance for Kugel to step on the court at Addition Financial Arena in front of family and friends.
“My mom lives six hours away and she’s probably been at my house five times already since I’ve been here,” Kugel said with a smile.
Kugel’s already heard from several former Knights like Taylor Hendricks, who the Utah Jazz selected with the ninth overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. He’s also spoken with former UCF guards Jordan Ivy-Curry and Darius Johnson, who reached out to provide some insight or words of encouragement.
“Darius and I were on the same AAU team growing up,” Kugel said. “He was telling me what it was like and what he was doing [here], so I can replicate what he was doing because he was the main leader on the team. It’s about making sure everybody is in the right spots and being accountable for the team.”
Now that he’s comfortably in place at UCF, Kugel’s goal is simple.
“Hopefully to be an All-American and win a lot of games,” he said. “I want to be in the NCAA tournament for sure and maybe win a few games — maybe win the whole thing.”
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com