Walking Tall: UCI's 7-9 Rioux Towers as Tallest Player in NCAA Hoops History
Sky-is-the-limit expectations face 7-9 Canadian Olivier Rioux, a transfer to UC Irvine from Florida as the tallest player in college basketball history. It will be a tall order, but his development likely will determine whether or not the Anteaters register at least 23 victories for the fifth straight season. Believe it or not, there has previously been a striking number of towering players with higher profiles including fellow Canadian Zach Edey, who earned back-to-back national POY awards with Purdue.
Who have been the tallest players in major-college history? Eleven of 15 NCAA Division I players taller than 7-4 have impacted major-college hoops this century and could literally look down upon national Player of Year winners Lew Alcindor (7-2/UCLA), Anthony Davis (7-0/Kentucky), Patrick Ewing (7-0/Georgetown) and Shaquille O'Neal (7-1/Louisiana State) plus two-time All-Americans Artis Gilmore (7-2/Jacksonville) and Hakeem Olajuwon (7-0/Houston). Nearly half of the players 7-4 or taller were layup line sideshows, averaging no more than 3 ppg in their major-college careers.
This marks the fourth consecutive season with at least four players taller than 7-3 and second in a row with three players taller than 7-4. Rioux and a 7-4 successor to Edey (Daniel Jacobsen) are among the following list of skyscrapers:
| Tallest DI Players | Ht. | School(s) | Summary of NCAA Division I Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivier Rioux | 7-9 | Florida/UC Irvine | Canadian product was preferred walk-on in 2024-25 before appearing in 11 games with the Gators in 2025-26 |
| Neil Fingleton | 7-7 1/2 | North Carolina/Holy Cross | missed both of his field-goal attempts in one game with Carolina in 2001-02 before averaging 2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.7 bpg and 45.2 FG% for Holy Cross in 2002-03 and 2003-04 |
| Tacko Fall | 7-7 | UCF | 10.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 bpg and 74 FG% from 2015-16 through 2018-19 (All-AAC third-team selection) |
| Kenny George | 7-7 | UNC Asheville | 9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg and 71.6 FG% in 2006-07 and 2007-08 (All-Big South Conference second-team selection) before having part of his right foot amputated because of staph infection |
| Shawn Bradley | 7-6 | Brigham Young | 14.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 5.2 bpg and 51.8 FG% in 1990-91 (All-WAC second-team selection) |
| John Hollinden | 7-6 | Oral Roberts | 1.2 ppg and 1.1 rpg in 1976-77 and 1977-78 before transferring to Indiana State-Evansville |
| Mike Lanier | 7-6 | Hardin-Simmons/UCLA | averaged 5.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.8 bpg and 45.2 FG% for Hardin-Simmons in 1988-89 and 1989-90 before averaging 1.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.1 bpg and 32.4 FG% with UCLA in 1991-92 and 1992-93. |
| Mamadou Ndiaye | 7-6 | UC Irvine | 10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 bpg and 67.6 FG% from 2013-14 through 2015-16 (All-Big West Conference first-team selection) |
| Sim Bhullar | 7-5 | New Mexico State | 10.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg and 63.3 FG% in 2012-13 (All-WAC third-team selection) and 2013-14 |
| Trent Burns | 7-5 | Missouri | 2 ppg and 1.8 rpg as a sophomore in 2025-26 |
| Gabe Dynes | 7-5 | Youngstown State/Southern California/Louisville | 4.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 2.2 bpg while shooting 71.9% from the floor with YSU and USC from 2023-24 through 2025-26 |
| Will Foster | 7-5 | Gonzaga | 1.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 54 FG% from 2006-07 through 2009-10 |
| Chuck Nevitt | 7-5 | North Carolina State | 3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1 bpg and 58 FG% from 1978-79 through 1981-82 |
| Jamarion Sharp | 7-5 | Western Kentucky/Mississippi | juco recruit averaged 7.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 4.4 bpg for WKU in 2021-22 and 2002-23 before NCAA leader in rejections transferred and averaged 3.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 2.4 bpg with Ole Miss in 2023-24 |
| Riley Sorn | 7-5 | Washington | 3 ppg and 2.4 rpg in 2019-20 and 2020-21 |
| Alan Bannister | 7-4 | Oklahoma State/Arkansas State | 6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg and 45.9 FG% with OSU in 1985-86 and 1987-88 before averaging 2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg and 45.2 FG% with ASU in 1989-90 |
| Lonnie Boeckman | 7-4 | Oklahoma State | 1.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 35.8 FG% from 1973-74 through 1976-77 |
| Tom Burleson | 7-4 | North Carolina State | 19 ppg, 12.7 rpg and 51.6 FG% from 1971-72 through 1973-74 (three-time All-ACC selection and All-American as junior) |
| Mark Eaton | 7-4 | UCLA | 1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg and 44.9 FG% in 1980-81 and 1981-82 |
| Zach Edey | 7-4 | Purdue | consensus national player of the year the past two seasons, Canadian was instrumental in boosting Boilermakers to runner-up finish in 2024 NCAA Tournament (finished career with 18.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg and 62.1 FG% before becoming ninth pick overall in NBA draft) |
| Daniel Jacobsen | 7-4 | Purdue | freshman in 2024-25 became medical redshirt after fracturing tibia before posting 5.5 ppg, 3 rpg and 1.2 bpg while shooting 71.9% from the floor as a sophomore in 2025-26 |
| Christ Koumadje | 7-4 | Florida State | 4.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 bpg and 62.2 FG% from 2015-16 through 2018-19 |
| Rolf Mayr | 7-4 | Duquesne | 1.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg and 42.9 FG% in 1987-88 |
| Naheem McLeod | 7-4 | Florida State/Syracuse | juco product averaged 4.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 59.6 FG% with FSU in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before averaging 3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg and 69.1 FG% in 2023-24 and 2024-25 |
| Chase Metheney | 7-4 | Virginia | 2.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 1 bpg from 1995-96 through 1997-98 |
| Ralph Sampson | 7-4 | Virginia | 16.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 3.5 bpg and 56.8 FG% from 1979-80 through 1982-83 (three-time national player of the year) |
| Rik Smits | 7-4 | Marist | 18.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.2 bpg and 60.9 FG% from 1984-85 through 1987-88 (three-time all-conference first-team selection and two-time league player of the year) |
| Steve Turner | 7-4 | Vanderbilt | 8.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 50.2 FG% from 1969-70 through 1972-73 (All-SEC third-team selection) |
| Matt Van Komen | 7-4 | Utah/Saint Mary's | played sparingly for Utes in 2019-20 and Gaels in 2020-21 |
NOTES: George Bell (7-8/Morris Brown GA, UC Riverside and Biola CA), Paul Sturgess (7-7/Florida Tech and Mountain State WV), Manute Bol (7-6/Bridgeport CT) and Priest Lauderdale (7-4/Central State OH) played for non-DI colleges. . . . Homesick Gunther Behnke (7-4/Kentucky) left UK before start of 1984-85 season to return to his native West Germany.