![Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) celebrates a dunk during the second half of an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2534,h_1425/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01ks5tbtxp0whxwhxepk.jpg "Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) celebrates a dunk during the second half of an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Fair or unfair, Florida is going to enter the 2026-27 season with one of the largest targets a team could ever have on its back. By the time the season tips off in November, the Gators will be just two seasons removed from their national title run in 2025 and one season removed from an SEC regular season title to go along with being a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
That alone is going to draw attention, but now throw in the fact that essentially everyone from the 2025-26 season is coming back, and the hype train for the Gators might not get contained next season.
Rueben Chinyelu is coming back to Florida
Rueben Chinyelu is set to return to Florida for the 2026/27 season. Chinyelu had tested the waters for the NBA and sent through the NBA Combine, but he announced today that he will return for his senior season in Gainesville.
Chinyelu joins Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh as Gators who could have gone to the NBA but opted to return for one last ride.
With their returns, it is almost a lock that Florida will be ranked No. 1 in preseason polls once those start coming out. With that, there will obviously be a ton of excitement, but there will also be a feeling in Gainesville of national title or bust for 2027.Â
Which is going to make next season a different vibe compared to the last two. During the 2024/25 campaign, Florida barely snuck into the top 25 to start the season, and it wasn’t until January that the idea of winning a national title even felt like a possibility.
Last season was a bit more of a roller coaster as Florida had high hopes to start, then the lack of guard play during the non-conference portion of the season had the Gators unranked at one point. Florida then got everyone’s hopes up again with a massive run during SEC play, only to fall flat against Iowa in the 2nd round of March Madness.
Not since the 2006-07 season has Florida truly entered a year where the expectations were national title or bust. Not SEC title or bust. Not Final Four or bust. But be the last team standing, or else everything feels like a failure. With that, there are bound to be questions about pressure and handling expectations to come.
But for now, Gator fans can look forward to a stacked roster that few should have an answer for once things get going in November.
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