Former Florida center Micah Handlogten is on the move again, and this time he’s headed to another SEC program.
According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Handlogten has committed to Ole Miss after four college seasons split between Marshall and Florida. The 7-foot-1 big man spent one year at Marshall and three with the Gators, then put together a 2025-26 season in which he averaged 4.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 14.8 minutes.
Handlogten’s transfer comes with a legal wrinkle that has become familiar across college basketball. He is among the players trying to secure a fifth year of eligibility through the courts. After his senior year ended, he played in the NBA Summer League with the Utah Jazz, though he reportedly did not officially sign an Exhibit 10 contract, which helps his case.
That puts him in the same general territory as Mark Mitchell, who recently moved from Missouri to Kentucky. Mitchell also played four college seasons, spent two years at Duke and two at Missouri, and then appeared in Summer League without signing a contract. A Louisville judge recently cleared Mitchell to play in 2026-27, but the SEC has been pushing back on intraconference transfers involving players who did not enter the portal during the spring window.
Handlogten’s path is a little different. He entered the portal during the spring even though, at that point, there was no route for four-year players to get another season. The 5-in-5 rule, which was not intended to retroactively give fourth-year players a fifth year and is now at the center of several court cases, would be added later.
The league has made its position clear: it wants to stop intraconference transfers for players who entered outside the spring window. Mitchell technically fits that category after entering the portal through the Louisville judge’s TRO earlier this month, though that issue is also being challenged in court.
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Kentucky Secondary May Be Leaning On A Breakout Defender
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The Wildcats also made sure Nichols remains in the picture for 2026, a sign the new coaching staff sees him as more than just a depth option. Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has been equally upbeat about Nichols growth and what it could mean once the season gets rolling, leaving Kentucky with an increasingly interesting question in the defensive backfield: whether Nichols is simply a reliable returning piece or the kind of breakout defender that can help shape the units ceiling. [Read more 🡒]