Dior Johnson returns to UCF after breakout year at Tarleton State
Dior Johnson is coming back to Orlando.
The Tarleton State guard has committed to UCF out of the transfer portal, returning to the program where he spent the 2024-25 season. On3 rates Johnson as a four-star transfer, ranked No. 195 nationally and the No. 37 point guard in the portal cycle.
Johnson, who will be a redshirt senior, also made a visit to Ole Miss before ultimately choosing to reunite with the Knights.
The addition gives UCF a proven, high-volume scorer at the point guard position to complement defensively-minded PG Arturo Dean.
Johnson’s lone season in Orlando was a reserve role — he appeared in 35 of UCF’s 37 games, coming off the bench each time across 297 minutes. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.0 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9% from the floor (39-for-85), 30.4% from three (7-for-23) and 90% from the free throw line (18-for-20), adding 29 assists and 10 steals.
He saved his best for the postseason. In UCF’s run to the championship game of the inaugural College Basketball Crown, Johnson averaged 6.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game off the bench, shooting 60% from the floor (12-for-20) and 42.9% from deep (3-for-7). His signature moment came in the semifinal against Villanova on April 5, when he erupted for a career-high 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three.
Scoring machine at new school
He then transferred to Tarleton State where he had a breakout that turned heads nationally.
In 20 games with the Texans this past season, Johnson averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The 24.0 points per game figure ranked second in all of Division I, though he fell four games short of the minimum requirement to officially qualify.
He was named WAC Sixth Man of the Year and Second Team All-WAC, earned WAC Newcomer of the Week honors five times and WAC Player of the Week three times — receiving both in the same week on three occasions.
The production was relentless. Johnson recorded 17 games with 10 or more points, 14 with 20-plus, five with 30-plus and two with 40 or more — making him one of just four players in the country to reach 40 points twice in a season. He opened his Tarleton career with a 42-point explosion at Baylor on November 14 and closed it with four straight 20-plus point performances. He made 10 or more free throws in nine games and posted a season-high six assists against Rice on November 20.
Across his 11 WAC games, he averaged 24.7 points per game and scored in double figures in 10 of those contests, including four consecutive 30-plus point outings from January 1 through January 15.
Injuries limited him — he missed 12 games in two separate stretches, four in a row and then eight straight — otherwise the individual accolades could have been even greater.
Johnson originally redshirted at Pitt in 2022-23 before spending the 2023-24 season at Clarendon College (JUCO), where he averaged 29.7 points per game.
Roster picture comes into focus
With Johnson’s commitment, UCF is believed to have filled 14 of 15 roster spots for 2026-27.
Four returners with remaining eligibility have announced they’re coming back: guards Carmelo Pacheco and Arturo Dean, and centers John Bol and Elijah Hulsewe. Guard Tanner Jones is also presumed to be returning.
The Knights’ transfer portal class includes FGCU forward Isaiah Malone, Wofford guard Cayden Vasko, North Carolina A&T forward Lewis Walker, Charleston guard Mister Dean, New Orleans center Churchill Abass, Boston College forward Jason Asemota and now Dior Johnson.
Two high school signees, guard Donovan Williams and forward Dylan Mann, round out the group. Top-100 recruit Christian Gibson decommitted last week.
