UCF adds former Oklahoma State guard Arturo Dean
Arturo Dean, one of the Big 12’s most disruptive defenders last season at Oklahoma State, has officially joined the UCF Basketball program and will redshirt this year ahead of a final season of eligibility in 2026-27.
Dean, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Miami, Fla., began his career at FIU before transferring to Oklahoma State for the 2024-25 season. He was spotted on the bench during last night’s 81-63 win over Mercer. After the game, head coach Johnny Dawkins confirmed Dean’s midseason addition, noting he’ll begin classes in January and be a full participant in practice and workouts this spring.
Dean brings a strong defensive pedigree to Orlando. As a true freshman at FIU in 2022-23, he was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year after averaging 11.9 points per game and setting a school freshman steals record with 81, ranking sixth nationally. The following season, he led all of Division I with 104 steals (3.35 per game), earning a second consecutive All-Defensive Team selection and setting the FIU single-season program record in the process.
He transferred to Oklahoma State last season and continued his disruptive ways, averaging 7.6 points, 3.4 assists, and a Big 12-best 2.5 steals per game (84 total). He started 21 of 34 games for the Cowboys and again proved to be one of the nation’s top ball hawks.
UCF fans may already be familiar with Dean’s game. He faced the Knights three times over the past two seasons, once at FIU and twice at Oklahoma State.
In last season’s Big 12 matchup in Stillwater, Dean scored 16 points with four assists and three steals in OSU’s 104-95 win. In the rematch in Orlando, UCF came out on top, 83-70, though Dean still impressed with 12 points, seven assists and four steals. The year before, in the 2023-24 season opener while at FIU, he logged four assists and three steals in a loss at UCF.
“I think one of the things I really like about him is his competitiveness,” Dawkins said. “I love how hard he defends. He just really gets after it defensively. He’s like a whirlwind out there.
“We played against him enough times that in seeing him, so when he was available, I’m like, you know, if we can get this young man, that would be great. I think he fits in how we play, our style of play, I think fits him very well. I think he would be really good in our system.”
Dean entered the transfer portal last April and took visits to Miami and West Virginia, but ultimately did not enroll for the fall semester.
He will have one year of eligibility remaining in 2026-27.
