{"id":233355,"date":"2026-04-15T22:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/233355\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T22:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:15:07","slug":"florida-basketballs-alex-condon-will-return-to-gators-for-senior-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/233355\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida basketball&#8217;s Alex Condon will return to Gators for senior year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated April 15, 2026, 5:59 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Gator Nation got some great news on Wednesday afternoon. Forward Alex Condon will return for his senior season with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/basketball\/ncaab\/teams\/florida-gators\/1407\/\" data-autotag=\"3b888813-f087-4637-8d3d-c90e4608afae\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Florida<\/a> basketball, <a href=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=83224X1595658&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fmens-college-basketball%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F48496703%2Fflorida-forward-alex-condon-return-senior-season&amp;xcust=SC1-SGAT&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fgatorswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fcollege%2Fgators%2Fmens-basketball%2F2026%2F04%2F15%2Fflorida-basketball-alex-condon-will-return-for-senior-year%2F89632361007%2F\" data-v-afl=\"\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">according to ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The frontcourt star from Australia has spent all three years of his collegiate career in Gainesville. Last year, Condon withdrew from the NBA draft and returned to school when his stock did not rise high enough; this year, he is the No. 30 prospect in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=83224X1595658&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnba%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F46886245%2F2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players&amp;xcust=SC1-SGAT&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fgatorswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fcollege%2Fgators%2Fmens-basketball%2F2026%2F04%2F15%2Fflorida-basketball-alex-condon-will-return-for-senior-year%2F89632361007%2F\" data-v-afl=\"\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ESPN&#8217;s Top 100<\/a>, but it appears that a fourth season with the Orange and Blue outweighs the benefits of going pro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In returning to Florida, he looks to bring home a second national championship in three years after a disappointing finish to the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_gl gnt_em__el\" href=\"http:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/picture-gallery\/sports\/college\/gators\/mens-basketball\/2026\/04\/15\/florida-basketball-alex-condon-photos-highlights-junior-year\/89633203007\/\" data-t-l=\"\u2691g:l|l|c|view gallery:inline promo\" aria-label=\"View Gallery - PHOTOS: Highlights from Alex Condon&#039;s junior year at Florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/89044904007-2264803469.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not the result that we wanted at the end of the year,&#8221; Condon told ESPN. &#8220;I think we&#8217;re a better team than that. So, (we) left a bit of unfinished business with the Gators. So to go back to school and compete \u2014 we know what it&#8217;s like to win a national championship, and that&#8217;s the number one goal for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Last season, Condon averaged a career-high 15.1 points on 55% shooting, along with 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks, playing in 34 of a total 35 games. For his career, he has averaged 11.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks over 110 total games.<\/p>\n<p>Need a news break? <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (play)|e|auto spike click:6|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/play.usatoday.com\/?itm_source=SPIKE&amp;itm_campaign=PLAYSPIKE&amp;itm_medium=ONSITE\">Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The program put up a 27-8 record last season and an 87-24 mark over his three-year tenure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Condon joins guards Boogie Fland, Urban Klavz\u030car, AJ Brown, Isaiah Brown, Alex Kovatchev and Alex Lloyd in returning for the 2026-27 campaign, while an announcement is still pending from the <a href=\"http:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/gators\/mens-basketball\/2026\/04\/05\/florida-basketball-rueben-chinyelu-naismith-defensive-player-of-the-year-2026\/89476122007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Defensive Player of the Year<\/a>, center Rueben Chinyelu. Forward Thomas Haugh is ranked 13th in ESPN&#8217;s Top 100 and is expected to remain in the NBA draft with his lottery-pick status.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Fellow frontcourt teammates <a href=\"http:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/gators\/mens-basketball\/2026\/04\/06\/florida-basketball-micah-handlogten-transfer-portal\/89491056007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Micah Handlogten<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/gators\/mens-basketball\/2026\/03\/31\/florida-basketball-olivier-rioux-entering-transfer-portal\/89400223007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Olivier Rioux<\/a> have both entered the transfer portal, making Condon&#8217;s return that much more important to Todd Golden&#8217;s team. The Gators did add guard Denzel Aberdeen back into the fold via the portal, while guard Xaivian Lee&#8217;s eligibility expired after last season.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776291307_280_82604684007-20250322-t-011042-z-779806020-mt-1-usatoday-25734617-rtrmadp-3-ncaabasketballncaatournam.webp\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Follow us\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GatorsWire\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@GatorsWire<\/a>\u00a0on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/gatorswire.bsky.social\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bluesky<\/a>, and like our page on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GatorsWire\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/college-sports\/sec\/florida\" data-autotag=\"13e400dd-2caf-4743-8f66-2d6e34ba4e99\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Florida Gators<\/a> news, notes and opinions.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated April 15, 2026, 5:59 p.m. ET The Gator Nation got some great news on Wednesday afternoon. Forward&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[31,28,30,29,22150,22151,8913,336,39,4814,14014,342,9133,96,14013,4821,300,34],"class_list":{"0":"post-233355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-sstssportscollegegatorsmens-basketball","13":"tag-sstsnmens-basketball","14":"tag-tagbasketball","15":"tag-tagespn-inc","16":"tag-tagflorida","17":"tag-tagflorida-gators","18":"tag-tagflorida-gators-mens-basketball","19":"tag-tagnational-sports","20":"tag-tagnba","21":"tag-tagoverall-positive","22":"tag-tagsec-conference-mens-basketball","23":"tag-tagsec-hub","24":"tag-tagsports-news","25":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}