Oliver Rioux, the tallest in college hoops at 7-9, has committed to UC Irvine

Olivier Riouxwho, at 7-foot-9, is the tallest player in college basketball history and the tallest player to score in a Division I game, has committed to play UC IrvineHe announced on Instagram on Thursday.

the former Florida The center redshirted the season in 2025 when the Gators won the national title and appeared in 11 games last season. In late March, he announced that he would enter Portal in search of more playing time.

“Next stop: Irvine, California,” he wrote in his post Thursday.

His announcement came after the Florida Stars Thomas Hough And Alex Condon Both have announced their return for the 2026-27 season. Ruben ChinyeluThe Gators, who won both NABC and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honors, entered the NBA draft but are expected to bounce back, which ranks the Gators as the No. 1 team in each respective preseason ranking. That means not much playing time for frontcourt talents like Rioux, who will be a redshirt sophomore next season.

Rioux, who was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s tallest teenager,” will now play for a UC Irvine squad that won the Big West Conference regular season title but lost to Hawaii in the league tournament. The Anteaters are searching for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.

The school is known for its giants.

Former UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye, who is 7-foot-6, was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and 2016. Rioux is one of only three players in college basketball history taller than Ndiaye, according to ESPN research.

“Oli is excited and ready for the next step in his journey,” agent Peter Yiannopoulos told ESPN when Rioux entered the portal in March.