The top five positive things to happen inside UCF Sports

As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2026, join the Sons of UCF as we take a look back at the 2025 calendar year in UCF Sports. To start, here are the Top 5 favorable stories or happenings that impacted Knight Nation.

Outside Looking In (OLI)

Here are some honorable mentions that just missed the list:

UCF Basketball making the finals of The Crown

It became popular to bag on The Crown, a new made-for-TV basketball tournament, as a gimmicky showcase of teams that weren’t good enough to make the Big Dance. In fact, when it was announced that UCF had accepted an invite to play in The Crown, many fans in Knight Nation voiced their displeasure with the decision.

However, the Knights, playing shorthanded without several key contributors, including leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, made an improbable run to the finals, beating Oregon State, Cincinnati, and Villanova along the way. UCF guard Darius Johnson had a masterful tournament, dropping 42 points against Villanova en route to being named to the all-tournament team. In the finals against Nebraska, the Knights held a 12 point lead early in the second half before wilting down the stretch and ultimately losing by 11. While making a run in The Crown was not the way many wanted to have postseason success, it was good to see the team fight together and produce a fun week of basketball in April. Plus, maybe one day:

UCF Volleyball hires Matt Botsford

During their time in the American Conference, UCF Volleyball was a force to be reckoned with, winning 25 or more matches and earning an NCAA Tournament berth from 2018 until they departed for the Big 12 in 2023 (Note: in the COVID shortened 2020 season, the Knights played a modified schedule). The 2023 season was marred with change, as Jenny Maurer was tabbed as head coach replacing the departed Todd Dagenais, and all-world superstar outside hitter McKenna Melville’s eligibility expired due to graduation. The step up in competition was also palpable for the Knights, who won 17 matches and missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023, and posted the first losing season since 2015 in 2024, going 9-18. UCF decided to make a change in leadership, and hired veteran coach Matt Botsford to lead the program. Botsford previously coached at FGCU, where he amassed a career 77% winning percentage, leading the Eagles program. In his first season with the Knights, Botsford’s team showed some improvement, winning 17 matches, including victories against ranked opponents BYU and Iowa State.

McKenzie Milton is named Quarterback Coach

When Scott Frost was named head coach of UCF Football in December, it almost felt like a foregone conclusion that former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton would find his way back to Orlando in some capacity. Frost himself made a reference to the possible reunion in his introductory press conference:

A few days later, UCF officially announced that Milton would indeed be joining the coaching staff, heading up the QB room where he once excelled as a Knight. The good vibes from this move reverberated around Knight Nation, as former players and coaches descended upon the Wayne Densch Center to welcome KZ home and celebrate a new (old?) chapter for UCF Football.

Once the dust settled and the tears dried, the job of molding the Knights QB’s became the hottest topic surrounding the football team, once again casting Milton as a central figure in the program. However, life comes at you fast, and it’s no secret that the QB room under Milton’s direction had struggles and inconsistencies in 2025. With impending changes coming to the roster for 2026, Milton has a chance to do something he once did as a player at UCF, that is, to create a dramatic improvement in his second year at the helm.

The Top 5

Now, let’s get down to business, here are the Top 5 favorable stories in Knight Nation for 2025:

5. UCF Basketball starts the 2025-26 season 11-1

The Men’s Hoops team exploded out of the starting blocks for the 2025 season with an 11-1 record in non-conference play, including a ten-game winning streak. With the constant roster fluctuation that has become the norm for UCF, it is tough to define expectations for this team, but so far, this group has been a pleasant surprise.

Now, before we get too far ahead, the Big 12 schedule will be a gauntlet for the Knights, featuring matchups with at least five teams that are ranked in the top 25. UCF will need to earn somewhere between 7 to 9 conference wins to even be in the conversation for a tournament berth, something that has alluded the program since 2019.

And yes, this take has the potential to age horribly with so much season left to play.

4. Men’s and Women’s Soccer make some noise in the post-season

While UCF Football was going through a tough patch in 2025, UCF Fútbol was thriving in both the men’s and women’s programs. For the women, they completed their third season in the Big 12 with 12 total wins, their highest output since 2017-18. After dropping a heartbreaker in the Big 12 tournament, the Knights earned a hosting 7th seed in the NCAA Tournament, and dispatched Maine in front of the home crowd in round one. Unfortunately, UCF fell short in a second-round matchup at Duke, ending their season.

For the men, a slow start saw them sitting with a 2-6 record mid-way through the season, but they rebounded with a seven-match unbeaten streak to help close out the season. Heading into the Sun Belt Conference tournament as the 5th seed, the Knights put together an unbelievable three-match stretch culminating in a 3-1 win over Marshall in the championship. The Knights earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated FAU in the first round before ending their season on the road against Georgetown.

3. Construction begins on the new Roth Tower

A project that UCF VP and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir called “groundbreaking”, the Roth Tower expansion broke ground in early 2025 with an estimated completion date of fall 2026. The $90M dollar price tag is being funded through Tourist Tax Development dollars that were awarded to UCF by the Orange County Commissioners. The four-level tower will offer new premium seating options and experiences for fans and supporters. There is also the potential for UCF to use the new space and stadium on a year-round basis, including concerts, sporting events, corporate gatherings, and rocket launch viewings.

It remains to be seen the actual impact the new addition will have for UCF and the football program, but it represents the most significant enhancement made to the Bounce House since it opened in 2007, and offers UCF the ability to stay competitive with other football facilities inside the Big 12.

2. Scott Frost is back on the sidelines in the Bounce House

While the season result wasn’t what many had hoped, the opening game (AKA First Frost 2.0) certainly had a palpable energy permeating throughout Knight Nation. After a seven-year hiatus, Frost stepped out of the tunnel and back onto the home sideline to the excitement of many wearing black and gold:

The return was a byproduct of a series of events that would have seemed inconceivable just 12 months prior, but there is no debating that the re-Frosting of the football program sparked a renewed energy and optimism badly needed by a weary fan base. If a penalty flag or nine had stayed tucked in the waistband of an official, maybe the season result would have created more goodwill and optimism, but at least for one Knight, the vibes felt right (at least until kickoff…)

1. Cindy Ball-Malone agrees to a contract extension

While different sports at UCF have had flashes of success over the last decade, it’s hard to dispute that UCF Softball has set the gold standard for consistency over the past seven seasons with head coach Cindy Ball-Malone at the helm. The Knights have earned an NCAA tournament berth in five straight seasons, and have arguably made the most seamless transition of any UCF sport to the Big 12 conference. All of this success has made Ball-Malone, known affectionately as Coach Bear, a popular name throughout coaching circles, with her name often being mentioned when other high-profile jobs opened. However, Knight Nation was able to take a deep breath sigh of relief when it was announced that Ball-Malone had agreed to a contract extension that will keep her in charge of the program through the 2029 season.

UCF returns a roster highlighted by young talent that gained valuable experience in 2025, giving Coach Bear a good chance to continue building on her legacy in Orlando.