Tallest college basketball player ever Olivier Rioux finds new home after leaving Florida

• Olivier Rioux, the 7-foot-9 collegiate basketball giant, is transferring to UC Irvine.
• Rioux will play under Coach Russell Turner, known for successfully coaching other exceptionally tall players.
• The 20-year-old Rioux, a Guinness world record holder, saw limited play during his 2 years at Florida.

The tallest man in basketball is headed west to take the next step in his career.

Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 behemoth who is the tallest player in both collegiate and professional basketball, committed to UC Irvine after transferring from Florida, he announced on Instagram.

Rioux will play under coach Russell Turner, who has been there since 2010 and has enjoyed success coaching multiple larger-than-usual bigs.

Florida center Olivier Rioux (32) follows through on his dunk over Prairie View A M guard Jannoy Thomas (10) and forward Hassane Diallo (11), who is 6-foot-8. AP

That includes Mamadou N’Diaye, a 7-foot-6 center and the school’s record holder for blocked shots who won multiple Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors from 2013-16.

Rioux, 20, of Quebec, previously held the Guinness world record as a 15-year-old for being the world’s tallest teenager when he was 7-foot-5, and just finished his redshirt freshman season.

He is the tallest player in college basketball history.

Rioux hardly played for the Gators, who were one of the best teams in the country during his two years in Gainesville, winning the national title in 2025 and earning a No. 1 seed in the March Madness Tournament this past season before being upset by Iowa in the second round.

Olivier Rioux is headed to UC Irvine after transferring. AP

Their Canadian center played in just 11 games during the 2025-26 campaign, averaging1.5 minutes per game and scoring seven total points.

Rioux weighs 305 pounds, according to his player profile, which is roughly the same weight at which N’Diaye enjoyed success while playing for Russell.

UC Irvine won the Big West regular season title, going 23-12 overall, and lost to UNLV in the first round of the NIT Tournament.