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Florida’s 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux picks his transfer destination
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Olivier Rioux
Florida’s 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux picks his transfer destination originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The tallest player in college basketball history has a new home.
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Olivier Rioux, who spent the past two seasons as a member of the Florida Gators, has transferred to UC-Irvine.
Rioux posted the news on his Instagram on Thursday morning, and his new program soon announced it themselves with this trippy graphic that emphasizes just how big he is:
If you want some irony, Rioux now plays for the Anteaters — and that’s quite the grounded creature. No one would ever confuse an anteater for tall.
Rioux, though? He’s as tall as they get.
That didn’t do a ton for him at Florida. He showed up too raw to contribute to an SEC team that went on to win a national title as he redshirted.
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Rioux hardly played in 2025-26 either, but his hope will surely be that in the Big West Conference, he can find a more consistent path to contributing.
The big fella played a total of 16 minutes in 2025-26, making 3-of-6 field goals and 1-of-2 free throws for 7 points. He also had 6 rebounds, an assist, a turnover and two fouls.
He lacks some of the physicality and footwork that would really allow his massive frame to be impactful.
His choice of UC-Irvine likely signals that the biggest programs in the country saw that and weren’t particularly interested, but it’s not a bad landing spot for Rioux, either.
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The Anteaters went 23-12 last season, including 15-5 in the Big West. They’re a quality mid-major program, and they’ll certainly get more interested viewers anytime Rioux is on the court.
Rioux’s time at Florida may have proved what he wasn’t yet capable of. His hope will be that heading to Irvine will prove what he actually can do.