Florida is already looking beyond the 2026-27 season, and the early recruiting board is starting to take shape.
Two blue-chip 2027 prospects have trimmed their lists, and the Gators remain firmly in the mix for both. Indianapolis Fishers guard Jason Gardner Jr. and Blairstown Blair Academy center Kamsi Awaka each announced updated top schools last week, giving Florida a shot at a pair of high-end options at very different positions.
Gardner Jr., a 6-1, 185-pound point guard, is down to eight schools: Auburn, Creighton, DePaul, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi State, Ohio State and Stanford. Rivals ranks him as the No. 57 overall prospect and the No. 16 point guard in the 2027 class.
For now, Ohio State appears to be the team to beat. Rivals lists the Buckeyes as the leader for Gardner Jr., and he has already made two unofficial visits to Columbus.
He is set to return there for an official visit on Oct. 3.
His other official visits are scheduled for Auburn on Sept. 19, Creighton on Sept. 25 and Stanford on Sept.
Awaka, meanwhile, cut his list to five: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State and UConn. The 6-10, 250-pound center is viewed as a consensus top-100 recruit and is ranked by 247 Sports as the No. 52 player overall and the No. 8 center in the 2027 cycle.
Unlike Gardner Jr., Awaka’s recruitment looks more open. Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Florida the best chance among his finalists, and Arizona also stands out because of family ties. Awaka is the younger brother of Tobe Awaka, who was the 2025-26 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year.
He does not have any visits scheduled yet.
Florida’s long-term recruiting push comes with a roster that is expected to look different in the near future. The program is entering what is likely its final season with Denzel Aberdeen, Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, which has the Gators searching for possible replacements in the high school ranks.
That future still sits behind the present, though. Florida is heading into the 2026-27 season after a Round of 32 exit last year, and the group around Aberdeen, Haugh, Condon, Chinyelu, Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar is being talked about as the likely preseason No. 1 team in the country.
“It’s national championship or bust for this team,” Haugh said this offseason. “But we're mature enough, we have a really old group now to know that, so I think we're going to be really comfortable coming in this season.”
Florida opens the season Nov. 2 against rival Miami in Tampa.
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