Moustapha Thiam, the No. 1-ranked center in the ESPN class of 2025, will reclassify to 2024 and enroll at UCF this summer, grassroots program director Anthony Ricks told ESPN on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-2 Senegalese big man is coming off a strong spring on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with Austin Rivers SE Elite, averaging 15.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 1.0 steals in 28 minutes per game.
He attended high school at DME Academy, arriving in the United States in October 2022 after being developed by Flying Star Academy in Senegal. He was ESPN’s No. 28 player in the 2025 class.
Thiam is joining a UCF team that exceeded expectations last year, going 7-11 in its debut season in the Big 12 under coach Johnny Dawkins.
UCF revamped its roster this offseason almost entirely through the NCAA transfer portal, reeling in Jordan Ivy-Curry (UTSA), Rokas Jocius (La Salle), Deebo Coleman (Georgia Tech), Benny Williams (Syracuse), Keyshawn Hall (George Mason), Mikey Williams (Memphis) and JJ Taylor (Memphis). The Golden Knights returned their top two scorers from last season in starters Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers and added local high school senior Cameron Simpson from Oak Ridge.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.
