This is huge for the Florida Gators! With star big man Rueben Chinyelu announcing that he is indeed coming back to Gainesville for another year, that really adds another intriguing element to the Gators winning two-of-three national titles. Todd Golden has a chip on his shoulder after how last season ended. He also has two more front-court stars returning in Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh as well.
Florida Gators Mens' Basketball's official account on X was so over the moon to have Chinyelu back.
the wait is over 🗣️🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ooRLlaCU3T
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) May 21, 2026
While it remains to be seen if this is truly a national title-or-bust season for the Gators, it does make them a considerable favorite to start next season out ranked No. 1. Outside of maybe the Duke Blue Devils, who else fits the bill? Defending national champion Michigan shall be good, but the Wolverines lost a ton to the NBA Draft. The Tennessee Volunteers are a strong one, but Florida still runs the SEC.
Right now, the trio of Chinyelu, Condon, and Haugh is better than what any team could counter with.
Florida should be viewed as the favorite to be ranked No. 1 overall to start
For as great as the 2024-25 Florida team was under Golden, especially down the stretch, there were some growing pains that popped up at various points for last year's team. Florida did drop some games in the non-conference. While they did dominate in league play, Florida did not win the SEC Tournament, all before falling to Iowa in the Round of 32. That game ended in the worst way possible...
Florida had a better than 50-50 chance of closing out the Hawkeyes to continue on with their national title defense before poor transition defense resulted in the biggest win for Iowa in ages. Golden was under fire, and it remained to be seen if any, or all, of Florida's best players would return to school for 2026-27. Condon was the first to re-up, then Haugh, then finally Chinyelu. They are ready for this one.
To be quite frank, not since Al Horford and Joakim Noah decided to come back to school after winning a national championship in 2005-06 has Florida had this seasoned of a roster. While NIL has made it more financially feasible for top players to return to school for additional campaigns, it was such a rarity back then in the early stages of the one-and-done era. Golden's guys are all bought in.
So will these star players returning make all the difference for Florida next season? Potentially, but it remains to be seen how their leadership develops. Haugh seems to be the primary vocal one, but it was a bit of baptism by fire for him last season. If he and the rest of this veteran-laden squad grows, Florida could easily win well over 30 games. Winning it all is one thing, but this team should be loaded.
Unless another team gets more shine from the national media, Florida should start the year at No. 1.
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