UC Irvine Picks Up 7’9” Olivier Rioux In Tranfer Portal

by Matthew MendivesMay 1, 2026, 12:36 am >

Seven-foot-nine center Olivier Rioux has transferred to UC Irvine.

Rioux spent the last two seasons with Florida. He told reporters he was looking for more playing time before entering the transfer portal.

He did not play the 2024-25 season when Florida won the NCAA championship. He played in 11 games in 2025-2026 while averaging 1.5 minutes per game.

Rioux hit one of two free throws in a Nov. 21 game against Merrimack. This made him the tallest player in college basketball history to score a point.

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Last season, UC Irvine had only one traditional center, Eli Choi. Choi averaged five points and three rebounds. Choi will be staying with UC Irvine for his senior season.

Despite being a smaller team, UC Irvine still ranked 13th in the nation in rebounds per game. However, one area they struggled with was offensive rebounding. They were outside the top 100 in offensive rebounding last season.

Rioux is largely unproven at the college basketball level. However, it’s hard to imagine that many players will be able to get a rebound over a seven-foot-nine player.

Last season, Florida was pretty deep at the center position. Outside of Rioux, they also had Rueben Chinyelu, Viktor Mikic and Micah Handlogten. Handlogten will be graduating, while Mikic will stay for another season. Chinyelu is currently in the transfer portal, but has shown interest in returning to Florida.

Earlier this offseason, Florida signed Spanish center Arturas Butajevas. However, Butajevas is very versatile, so he doesn’t impact their ability to play Chinyelu.

The biggest news Florida got this offseason was that Thomas Haugh will return for another season. Many draft experts expected him to declare for the NBA draft. He was expected to be a top-20 pick.

Next year’s college class is expected to be weaker. This could allow Haugh to be drafted higher, which gives him a larger rookie contract.