Florida is walking into this season with the same bright spotlight it had a year ago, but Todd Golden sounds convinced his team won’t be caught off guard this time.
That matters, because last season’s run came with all the markers of a contender. The Gators finished No. 1 in the SEC regular season, won another regular-season title and looked the part on both ends of the floor. But the story ended in frustration when Iowa knocked them out of the NCAA tournament in the second round, denying them a shot at repeating as national champions.
Golden sees that failure as part of the growth process.
“I think all of our guys, myself included, can use last year as a learning experience. To not allow the expectations to affect us, dictate how we go,” Golden said at SEC Media Days. “I think we're more ready for this this year than we were last year.”
The early part of the 2025-26 season, however, was not nearly as smooth as the final numbers suggested. Florida stumbled in losses to Arizona, UConn and Duke before also dropping conference games to Missouri and Auburn. Golden pointed directly to Alex Condon’s slow start as one reason the Gators had trouble finding their rhythm.
“Yeah, I think that affected Alex individually,” Golden said. “Alex, I think, was pressing a little bit and didn't play his best until really after the Auburn game in SEC play.”
In those five losses, Condon averaged 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, 3.6 and 3.6 fouls per game. He also shot 37.2 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from deep, making just one of his 11 3-point attempts.
Golden didn’t pin it all on one player, though. He said the weight of expectation hit the whole program early.
“... I think it affected our program as a whole to start last year," he said.
"We knew that was going to be something that we had to be up against. You can't really attack until you experience it.
We just didn't do a great job handling those expectations to start the year.”
Now the Gators return a core that already lived through that pressure. Condon is back, along with Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Boogie Fland. Florida also added Denzel Aberdeen back after one year in Lexington with the Kentucky Wildcats.
The depth behind them is another reason this group looks more equipped for the grind. Urban Klavzar, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year, is back, and so are AJ Brown, Isaiah Brown, Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram off the bench.
For Florida, the challenge is clear enough. The talent is there.
The experience is there. The only question is whether the Gators handle the expectations differently this time around.
In Other News...
Todd Golden Calls Out NCAA Fight Hanging Over Floridas Season
Florida has already seen how the NCAAs shifting eligibility rules can ripple into a season, and Todd Golden is not hiding his frustration with the latest version of the issue. Denzel Aberdeen was cleared to play in the 2026-27 season after a dispute over the five-year eligibility rule that had initially left out athletes from the high school class of 2022, a wrinkle that Golden argued made little sense given how the policy was being applied.
Aberdeen took the standard college path and is now eligible under the revised rule, which applies to the class of 2023 and beyond, but the broader fight is still hanging over the sport. Golden has made clear he views the NCAAs approach as inconsistent, and the legal battles tied to it have become another reminder that roster planning can shift just as fast as the rules themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Needs Vernell Brown For Texas But One Problem Remains
Florida has a chance to get a key piece back at the right time, with wide receiver Vernell Brown III practicing recently after missing the past two games because of a knee injury. His timing matters because Brown has been one of the more reliable targets in the offense this season, piling up 17 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns, and the Gators could use that kind of production with Texas coming to town.
The wrinkle is at quarterback, where Aaron Philo is questionable because of a shoulder injury. If he cannot go, sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. is expected to start, which would only add to the uncertainty around how Florida will piece together its passing game. Browns availability is still a positive sign, but the Gators may not know until later how much of that boost they can actually use. [Read more 🡒]
Florida's Defense Has One Growing Problem At The Worst Time
Floridas defense has reached an uncomfortable point midway through the season, with the unit giving up 29.0 points per game overall and 37.0 in conference play, numbers that put the Gators near the bottom of the SEC. Head coach Jon Sumrall has responded by taking a more hands-on approach, while defensive coordinator Brad White has pointed to the accumulation of small errors as a major reason the group keeps losing ground.
The timing is what makes it sting. Florida is trying to clean up communication and play more consistently, but the next test is a daunting one in No. 7 Texas, a matchup that offers little margin for the kind of breakdowns White has been describing. With the schedule tightening and the standard for defensive improvement getting higher by the week, the Gators need the fixes to show up quickly. [Read more 🡒]