7-foot-9 Florida transfer Olivier Rioux dazzles in UC Irvine debut, becomes tallest player to start game

Olivier Rioux, who is the tallest player in Division I basketball at 7-feet-9, made his debut with his new team on Tuesday during UC Irvine's 92-66 win over Chapman (Division III).  

Rioux, who transferred from Florida to UCI this offseason after spending his first two seasons with the Gators, including Florida's 2025 national title run, became the tallest player in college basketball history to start a Division I game. He finished with a double-double, recording 13 points and 12 rebounds, along with a block.

Rioux was 6 of 9 from the floor and logged 18 minutes in the blowout win.

Rioux's first made field goal of the game came less than two minutes in when he caught the ball deep in the post and laid it up easily over the defender. Later in the game,  Rioux -- who can touch the rim with his standing reach alone -- looked like he was dunking on a mini hoop and didn't have to jump when he threw down a one-handed dunk.

7'9'' Olivier Rioux is playing on a mini hoop 😭

Dunked it from behind the basket 😂 pic.twitter.com/GAc0ZwwnWu

— ESPN (@espn) November 4, 2026

7'9'' Olivier Rioux is playing on a mini hoop 😭

Dunked it from behind the basket 😂 pic.twitter.com/GAc0ZwwnWu

After beginning his career as a preferred walk-on with Florida, Rioux transferred to UC Irvine this offseason after appearing in 11 games during the 2025-26 season. Rioux made history last season by becoming the tallest player in college basketball history -- at any level -- to score a basket.

However, Rioux was behind a deep frontcourt at Florida that retained Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu, the strongest and most experienced starting frontcourt in the country. His path to playing time at his new school appears promising, as he logged more minutes in his debut at UCI (18) than in his entire two-year career at Florida (17).

In 2021, Guinness World Records declared Rioux the tallest teenager in the world at 7-feet-5. When he checked in against North Florida last season, he became the tallest college basketball player ever to appear in a game. To give context on how tall Rioux actually is, he didn't even need a ladder to cut down the nets when Florida beat Texas Tech in the Elite Eight in 2025.

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