Way-too-early men's college basketball rankings from USA TODAY Sports for Florida Gators
It has been less than 24 hours since the Florida Gators earned their third-ever national championship in the 2025 men's college basketball NCAA Tournament and already, the sports media is looking ahead to next fall.
While the ticker tape still lines the floor inside the Alamodome, USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith and Eddie Timanus put together their way-too-early ranking for the 2025-26 campaign. In it, Todd Golden's team remains among the top 10, but the loss of the team's seniors — including All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. — will be a tough void to fill.
Nonetheless, the trio expects Florida to come in at No. 8 with six months standing between now and the start of the preseason. They offered a succinct explanation for the pick.
"There will certainly be a transition from a team led by All-America guard Walter Clayton, and he will be hard to replace," they note. "However, the Gators still should have most of the inside players returning, with Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu all poised for increased production. Denzel Aberdeen should be a consistent perimeter scorer and will get boosted by incoming freshman Alex Lloyd."
USA TODAY Sports way-too-early men's basketball top 25
Houston (35-5) Duke (35-4) Connecticut (24-11) UCLA (23-11) Brigham Young (26-10) Alabama (28-9) Texas Tech (28-9) Florida (36-4) Michigan (27-10) Louisville (27-8) Purdue (24-12) Arkansas (22-14) St. John's (31-5) Iowa State (25-10) Michigan State (30-7) Kentucky (24-12) Kansas (23-12) Tennessee (30-8) Wisconsin (27-10) Gonzaga (26-9) Creighton (25-11) North Carolina (23-14) Arizona (24-13) Auburn (32-5) Baylor (20-15)
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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