UCF women's basketball will face Gators, Seminoles in Gabe Lazo's debut season

ORLANDO — Gabe Lazo's first season as UCF's women's basketball coach includes seven Sunshine State showdowns.

The Knights, who announced their non-conference schedule on Aug. 27 will face two of the state's supposed "Big 3" schools in the opening month of the 2026-27 campaign. They will travel to Florida on Nov. 5 and meet Florida State for a neutral-site clash at ESPN's Wide World of Sports on Nov. 21.

Lazo, a former assistant at Mississippi State, Tennessee and LSU among other stops, signed a five-year contract in April. He became the first Latino head coach of a Power Four women's basketball program.

UCF will welcome five more in-state rivals to Addition Financial Arena: Florida A&M for the Nov. 3 opener, North Florida (Nov. 17), Stetson (Nov. 19), Jacksonville (Nov. 24) and Florida Atlantic (Dec. 15). Knights assistant coach Lynn Bria resigned her post as Stetson's head coach in March after 18 years; Melissa DeVore was formally introduced as her successor April 14.

The Knights will also travel to Naples on Thanksgiving weekend to take part in the Florida Gulf Classic, squaring off with both Charlotte and Central Michigan. UCF will not need to cross state lines until late December, at the earliest, when it opens Big 12 Conference play.

The Big 12 will unveil its schedule at a later date. UCF's full non-conference schedule and conference opponents for the upcoming season are listed below:

• Nov. 3: Florida A&M
• Nov. 5: at Florida
• Nov. 9: South Alabama
• Nov. 11: Austin Peay
• Nov. 13: Le Moyne
• Nov. 17: North Florida
• Nov. 19: Stetson
• Nov. 21:Florida State (State Farm Field House, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.)
• Nov. 24: Jacksonville
• Nov. 27: Charlotte (Community School of Naples, Naples, Fla.)
• Nov. 28: Central Michigan (Community School of Naples, Naples, Fla.)
• Dec. 2: Tulane
• Dec. 7: Morgan State
• Dec. 15: Florida Atlantic

• Home: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
• Away: BYU, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU, Utah
• Home-and-home: Cincinnati, Houston, Texas Tech

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF women's basketball will face Gators, Seminoles in Gabe Lazo's debut season