Florida has climbed all the way to the top of the sport before the first tip of the season even arrives.
On Monday, the Associated Press put the Gators at No. 1 in its preseason poll, marking Florida’s first time opening atop the AP preseason rankings since the 2006-07 season, when it entered the year as the defending national champion.
The AP slot is just the latest sign that Florida has become the consensus pick to start the 2026-27 season. ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, CBS Sports’ Top 25, the NCAA’s Andy Katz’s Men’s Basketball Power 44 and the Blue Ribbon Yearbook all also placed the Gators at No. 1.
That hype is built on a roster loaded with familiar names and production. Florida brings back four of its five starters from a team that won the program’s first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 2014.
The frontcourt is the headline act. Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu give Florida one of the most imposing interior groups in college basketball.
Haugh paced the Gators last season at 17.1 points per game and earned first team All-SEC honors. Condon, who came into last year as an AP preseason All-American, finished at 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a night.
Chinyelu, the reigning Naismith Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, posted 10.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Florida also gets back Boogie Fland in the starting lineup. The former McDonald’s All-American averaged 11.6 points, 3.5 assists and a team-high 1.7 steals last season.
At shooting guard, Denzel Aberdeen is projected to step into the starting five. He was part of Florida’s 2025 national championship team as a reserve, then spent his senior season at Kentucky, where he averaged 13.5 points and 3.4 assists per game. Aberdeen received a temporary injunction on Sept. 29, making him eligible for this season with the Gators.
Florida’s bench includes another major piece in senior guard Urban Klavžar, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year. The Slovenian averaged 9.6 points last season and shot a team-best 40.6% from three.
Florida will get an immediate test to open the season, facing No. 14 Miami in Tampa on Nov. 2.
In Other News...
Jon Sumralls Late-Game Mindset Said Everything About Florida Vs Texas
Late in the fourth quarter against Texas, Jon Sumrall made it clear he was thinking the same way plenty of aggressive coaches do in a tight game: he wanted the first down, not the safer kick. The Florida coachs mindset fit the moment, with the Gators trying to finish off a victory and trusting the offense to make one more play instead of settling for points and handing the outcome back to the Longhorns.
On the critical third down, Tramell Jones answered with a nine-yard run that sealed it, removing the need for any debate about a field goal or a fourth-down call. Still, the whole sequence said a lot about how Florida viewed the end of the game, and it leaves the interesting question of what Sumrall would have done if Jones had been stopped short. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Napier Is Suddenly Back In A Job Florida Fans Know Well
Marylands coaching search is officially underway after the school moved on from Mike Locksley following an eight-season run and a 2-5 start, and one familiar name is already floating into the conversation. Athletic director James Smith now has to find the next leader for a program looking for a reset, and former Florida coach Billy Napier is among the candidates being mentioned.
Napier, of course, is a name Gators fans know well from his time in Gainesville, where the spotlight and pressure came fast. He is currently at James Madison and has the Dukes off to a 7-0 start, which only adds intrigue to any job talk surrounding him. For Florida fans, it is another reminder that Napiers career remains very much in motion, even if the next step is still unclear. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Defense Finally Showed An Edge With Georgia Looming
Floridas defense had been under fire for looking too cautious under coordinator Brad White, especially when explosive plays started piling up against it. Against Texas, though, the Gators looked far more willing to take chances, leaning into pressure and forcing Arch Manning to deal with a much different look than the one opponents had seen earlier in the season.
The shift was noticeable enough to raise the bigger question now hanging over Florida: was that just a one-game adjustment, or the start of a real change in how this defense wants to operate? With Georgia coming up, the Gators have a chance to show whether the more aggressive approach can hold up against a deeper, more punishing offense. [Read more 🡒]