Thomas Haugh came back to Florida for one more season, and now a group of Division I coaches thinks he might be the best player in the country when the 2026-27 season tips off.
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 men’s Division I coaches for their “Candid Coaches” series and asked who would be the nation’s top player next season. Haugh led the way with 43 percent of the vote.
That put him well clear of the pack. Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. finished at 15 percent, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner got 14 percent, and Illinois’ David Mirkovic drew six percent.
Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes received five percent, while Duke’s John Blackwell and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin each landed at three percent. Kansas forward Flory Bidunga picked up two percent.
The praise fits the profile Haugh built last season in Gainesville. After moving to the three before his junior year, he turned in a breakout campaign and earned Consensus Second-Team All-American honors along with First-Team All-Southeastern Conference recognition from coaches and the Associated Press. He led Florida with 17.1 points per game on 46 percent shooting, including 32.6 percent from three, and added 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steal and one block across 34 games.
That production made him a projected lottery pick and had him all but set on entering the 2026 NBA Draft. But after a stretch of deliberation that included talks with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, several UF teammates and the coaching staff, Haugh chose to return for his senior season instead.
The move gives Florida a proven centerpiece in a roster that already has plenty of familiar pieces around him. Condon is back in the frontcourt with Haugh, along with Rueben Chinyelu.
The Gators also bring back guards Boogie Fland, Urban Klavzar and Denzel Aberdeen, Isaiah and AJ Brown, forward Viktor Mikic, and second-year players Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram. Florida also added two international forwards, Domen Petrovic and Arturas Butajevas, plus freshman Jones Lay.
Even with that support, coaches clearly see Haugh as the guy who can separate himself. One anonymous coach told CBS Sports: "Not only is he NBA-ready right now, he's back and playing against younger guys in most cases.
But, his biggest advantage is that he will be running it back with a special group. Florida doesn't have to start over with a new roster.
They have had non-traditional turnover and have guys back who were part of that national championship team."
Another coach pointed to the completeness of his game: "He's proven he can perform at the highest level, and what separates him is how complete his game is. He impacts winning in so many different ways - he can score, rebound, defend multiple positions, make plays for teammates and consistently makes the right basketball decisions."
A third offered this blunt assessment: "Throwback guy who is a proven winner. Oozing with intangibles. He has gotten better each year in Gainesville."
Haugh’s path to this point wasn’t the most obvious one. The New Oxford, Pennsylvania native was under-recruited out of Perkiomen School and chose to spend an extra year at the prep level rather than join Florida a year early.
Now, after returning to a Gators team that finished last season with a painful NCAA Tournament exit, he’s back in the spotlight as the preseason conversation turns to the best player in college basketball. Florida was the No. 1 seed last season but fell to No. 9 seed Iowa by one point in Tampa in the second round.
Florida will resume preparations for the coming season in the next few days after a month-long break following summer workouts, with Haugh again positioned to be at the center of everything the Gators do.
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