Top center Thiam moves up to join UCF in 2024

Moustapha Thiam, the No. 1-ranked center in the ESPN class of 2025, will reclassify to 2024 and register at UCF this summer season, grassroots program director Anthony Ricks informed ESPN on Wednesday.The 7-foot-2 Senegalese huge male 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 went to high school at DME Academy, showing up in the United States in October 2022 after being established by Flying Star Academy in Senegal. He was ESPN’s No. 28 player in the 2025 class.Editor’s Picks

Thiam is joining a UCF group that exceeded expectations last year, going 7-11 in its launching season in the Huge 12 under coach Johnny Dawkins.UCF revamped

its roster this offseason almost completely through the NCAA transfer website, drawing 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 2 scorers from last season in beginners Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers and included regional high school senior Cameron Simpson from Oak Ridge.Jonathan Givony

is an NBA draft expert and the creator and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private hunting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and international teams.