The 2026–27 UCF Knights women's basketball team will represent the University of Central Florida during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Knights, led by first-year head coach Gabe Lazo, will play their home games at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida and compete as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
Previous season
The Knights finished the 2025–26 season 11–19 overall and 3–15 in Big 12 play, to finish in a tie for fourteenth place in the conference with Arizona. As the No. 15 seed in the Big 12 tournament, they lost in the first round to No. 11 Kansas 35–56 to end their season. Their 11–19 record was their worst in a decade, when the 2015–16 team went 7–23.
On March 30, 2026, head coach Sytia Messer was fired after four seasons with the program, in which she went 49–69 and never posted a winning record. Five days later, on April 4, the program announced the hiring of Tennessee assistant coach Gabe Lazo as the team's new head coach. He had previously been announced as a new assistant coach for LSU on March 31, but decided not to join the team, to instead become the head coach at UCF.
Offseason Departures UCF departures Samari Bankhead 1 Guard 6'0" Freshman Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Seton Hall Kristol Ayson 2 Guard 5'8" Fifth year Tacoma, WA Exhausted eligibility Jacorriah Bracey 3 Guard 5'9" Graduate student Drew, MS Graduated Logan Reed 5 Guard/Forward 6'0" Freshman Godley, TX Transferred to Texas Woman's (D-II) Meja Hänsel 9 Forward 6'2" Freshman Stockholm, Sweden Transferred to Jacksonville State Kayanna Cox 12 Guard 5'10" Sophomore Tenaha, TX Transferred to Incarnate Word Summer Yancy 13 Guard/Forward 5'11" Sophomore Kansas City, MO Transferred to George Mason Audreonia Benson 14 Guard 5'7" Junior Trussville, AL Transferred to Arkansas State Savannah Scott 30 Center 6'4" Sophomore Conway, AR Transferred to Auburn Khyala Ngodu 35 Center 6'3" Junior Fort Lauderdale, FL Transferred to West Virginia Leah Harmon 42 Guard 5'6" Sophomore Paterson, NJ Transferred to Minnesota
Incoming transfers UCF incoming transfers Key Roseby 0 Guard 6'0" Junior Dallas, TX Stephen F. Austin Kya Hurt 2 Guard 5'8" Sophomore Indianapolis, IN Illinois State Candace Kpetikou 3 Center 6'3" Junior Niamey, Niger Miami (FL) Caitlyn Jones 5 Guard 5'8" Sophomore Wake Forest, NC Wake Forest Nyla McFadden 8 Guard 6'0" Sophomore Fort Lauderdale, FL Penn State Vittoria Blasigh 10 Guard 5'9" Senior Udine, Italy Miami (FL) Mikayla Johnson 23 Guard 6'1" Senior Anchorage, AK Pittsburgh
Recruiting class There was no 2026 recruiting class.
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=""| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style=""| Big 12 regular season
!colspan=9 style=""|
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References