The reigning national champs, Florida basketball, have another title-contending team for the 2025-26 season.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Florida basketball.
First of all, congrats again to Todd Golden and the Florida Gators for winning the 2025 NCAA Tournament Championship! Walter Clayton Jr. put a very talented team on his back, cutting down the nets in San Antonio.
Now, Clayton Jr. is in the NBA and Golden looks to run it back, something the Florida basketball program did in 2006-07.
While Clayton, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard are all gone, it was a relatively young team last year. A couple of starters and a good group of rotation players return, so Golden didn’t need to go crazy to pick up a bunch of transfers. Instead, he looks to replace the lost talent with rising sophomore Booogie Fland and former Princeton standout Xaivian Lee.
There’s so much frontcourt depth on this Gators team, too. Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and Micah Handlogten ALL come back, making this the most experienced group of big men in the country.
Key additions on the bench are Ohio transfer AJ Brown, and top-50 ranked freshmen (247Sports Composite) CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd.
Now, replacing Walter Clayton Jr. isn’t easy and likely impossible. But there’s a serious chance Florida can make it back to the Final Four, and even repeat as champs with this year’s roster.
Head coach: Todd Golden (4th season at Florida, 7th season overall)
2024-25 record: 36-4 (14-4)
2025 postseason finish: Won National Championship (65-63) over Houston
Notable departures:
- Walter Clayton Jr. (18.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 38.6 3P%)
- Alijah Martin (14.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 35.0 3P%)
- Will Richard (13.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 35.9 3P%)
- Denzel Aberdeen (7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 35.0 3P%)
- Sam Alexis (4.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.4 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Arizona (Nov. 3) – Las Vegas, NV
- vs. Florida State (Nov. 11)
- vs. Miami (Nov. 16) – Jacksonville, FL
- vs. TCU (Nov. 27) – Rady Children’s Invitational
- vs. Providence OR Wisconsin (Nov. 28) – Rady Children’s Invitational
- at Duke (Dec. 2)
- at UConn (Dec. 9) – Madison Square Garden
- vs. George Washington (Dec. 13) – Sunrise, FL
Projected Rotation
PG: Xaivian Lee (6-4, 180, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 16.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 36.6 3P% (Princeton)
SG: Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, So.)
2024-25 stats: 13.5 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 37.9 FG% (Arkansas)
SF: Thomas Haugh (6-9, 215, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 9.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG
PF: Alex Condon (6-11, 236, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 10.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 BPG
C: Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 265, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 6.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 59.9 FG%
6: Micah Handlogten (7-1, 260, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 69.0 FG%
7: AJ Brown (6-4, 210, Rs.-Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 38.8 3P% (Ohio)
8: CJ Ingram (6-6, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #29-ranked recruit
9: Alex Lloyd (6-3, 180, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #42-ranked recruit
10: Urban Klavzar (6-1, 190, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 3.2 PPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 RPG, 36.3 FG%, 10.0 MPG
11: Alex Kovatchev (6-5, 195, Rs.-So.)
2024-25 stats: 8.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.3 APG, 4 GP (Sacramento State)
*Missed rest of season with injury
12: Isaiah Brown (6-4, 210, So.)
2024-25 stats: 1.9 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.1 APG, 52.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 3.8 MPG, 19 GP
13: Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, Rs.-Fr.)
Redshirted 2024-25 season
Florida basketball team MVP: Boogie Fland
It’s clear that of the trio of transfers coach Golden brought in, Fland will have the golden light. He could have gone to the NBA Draft after a standout season as a freshman at Arkansas, but there’s now a lot of money in college basketball, so Fland decided to transfer to play for the defending champs and tune up his game some more.
He’s a scorer and a playmaker, and will share the backcourt with one of the most exciting players in the nation in Xaivian Lee. And with so many great post players, Fland will have the perfect audition to show why he’s NBA material.
Florida basketball make-or-break player: Thomas Haugh
Haugh was HUGE during the NCAA Tournament for Florida, going off for 12 points or more in four of the Gators’ six wins. His biggest games were 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists against Maryland in the Sweet 16, and a 20-point, 11-rebound game versus Texas Tech in the Elite 8. Haugh hit four threes in that win over the Red Raiders.
Haugh could be counted on to take a leap in his junior year and become an off-court and on-court leader. The Gators bring back a lot, but they still have some great players to replace, and Haugh has a chance to be heavily relied on here as a junior on the defending champions.
Key analytic: Rebounds per game
Champions rebound the basketball, and Florida did it as well as anyone in the country last year. The Gators nabbed 41.8 rebounds per game last season, third in the nation.
As previously stated, they return pretty much every big man from last year. In fact, their top four rebounders from last year ALL come back to Gainesville this season. It’s another reason to pen in Florida as a potential repeat champion.
Florida basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the SEC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Champions