June 11, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ET
It’s no surprise that last season’s SEC regular-season champions are viewed as one of the conference’s premier teams entering 2026-27.
CBS Sports joins a long list of media outlets building preseason hype for Todd Golden and the Gators after their 16-2 SEC campaign a year ago. Writer Isaac Trotter has the Orange and Blue atop his way-too-early SEC basketball tiers as the first entry in the “national title contenders” category.
Todd Golden’s team is coming off an unsuccessful defense of its 2025 national championship, but maintains a lofty outlook as the program returns top-level talent who opted to return to Gainesville rather than enter the NBA draft.
While the Gators are virtually a consensus title contender going into next season, Trotter believes that Florida‘s demise could be perimeter shooting. Last season, Golden’s gang ranked in the 22nd percentile nationally on jump shots, which means the Gators shot worse than 77% of all Division I teams.
Boogie Fland’s return to Florida is viewed as a crucial piece that could lift the Gators’ ceiling if the former McDonald’s All-American can take a step forward in his third collegiate campaign.
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“Todd Golden is relying heavily on internal development to fix those brick-laying woes. Incremental growth from Haugh and Condon wouldn’t hurt, but frankly, point guard Boogie Fland has to be better, and he will with help from the Year 2 transfer jump,” Trotter said.
Urban Klavzar deciding to come back will surely help matters, as the junior led the Gators in 3-point shooting percentage.
“More playing time for Urban Klavzar will help; the 6-foot-1 junior is the best 3-point shooter on the roster. Another surge for second-unit guards like Isaiah Brown and Alex Lloyd won’t hurt either.”
Meanwhile, the strength of this team remains in the paint, where Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu all return as one of the nation’s most dynamic front-court trios.
“Florida will be the best rebounding team in the nation with Alex Condon, Tommy Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu back in the fold in a mark of unprecedented retention. All three are All-SEC players in 2026-27. You can’t say that about any other SEC club. Elite rebounding, in layman’s terms, equals more scoring chances,” Trotter went on to say.
“Florida won the rebounding plus turnover delta by 10.4 possessions per game against high-major foes, per CBB Analytics. That ranked second only behind Duke. The Gators’ massive shot-volume edge gives Florida the highest floor in all of college basketball.”
After earning a No. 1 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament and only losing two games in the entirety of the conference slate, Florida returns all but one starter from its core group in 2026.
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