Now that the dust has settled on the bulk of the transfer portal in college basketball, Todd Golden and the Florida Gators will once again be in prime position to win the national title in 2026 in Indianapolis.
A new top 25 poll, along with a ranking of transfer portal players, paints a picture of just how much the Gators reloaded this offseason.
Florida Gators ranked 2nd by ESPN
Florida headed into the offseason, knowing it needed to replace Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, and Alijah Martin. Then add in the departure of Denzel Aberdeen to Kentucky, and Florida's backcourt for 2025-26 was starting to look thin.
So it wasn't unfair that ESPN had the Gators ranked 18th at one point in their early 2025-26 rankings.
But with the addition of Boogie Fland, Xaivian Lee, and AJ Brown out of the transfer portal, ESPN has now shot the Gators up to 2nd in their latest ranking.
Of Florida, they said:
"There could be growing pains as Todd Golden figures out how all his players fit, but the Gators are certainly in the discussion to go back-to-back -- an impressive achievement after the departures."
Fland, in particular, is what elevates this roster into being a legit threat to go back-to-back. In an earlier ranking of the top 100 players in the transfer portal, Fland was ranked by ESPN as the 6th best player in the country.
Lee is no slouch and was ranked as the 27th-best player. Together, ESPN said:
"It will be interesting to see how Todd Golden utilizes Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee in the backcourt, as both are fantastic playmakers and are at their best with the ball in their hands. They're an incredibly talented duo."
Combine those two with the fact that Florida's entire frontcourt opted to come back, with Alex Condon, in particular, having the potential to elevate himself into a lottery pick in 2026, and there is a reason why Gator fans are peeking at hotels in Indianapolis for April of 2026.