The Florida Gators men's basketball team filled its final scholarship slot by snaring Sacramento State transfer Alex Kovatchev. However, most of their roster has been intact since the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft.
With a title defense on the line and the potential to follow in the footsteps of the 2006 and 2007 Gators by going back-to-back.
With the season just months away, here's how I see the rotation shaping up.
Starters
PG: Xaivian Lee
SG: Boogie Fland
SF: Thomas Haugh
PF: Alex Condon
C: Rueben Chinyelu
This lineup has the capability of being one of, if not the best, in the country. Haugh, Condon, and Chinyelu form an elite rebounding and defending frontcourt that's capable of suffocating opposing teams. The question that comes with the trio, though, is if it'll provide enough spacing. Condon shot just 33 percent from three-point land on 1.6 attempts, and Haugh nailed 34 percent of his attempts (2.6 per game) from distance. Chinyelu, of course, is a non-shooter.
Luckily for the Gators, they have a few options off the bench they could pivot to, but I'll get to them later. As for the backcourt, Todd Golden couldn't have done much better replacing Walter Clayton and Alijah Martin. Lee and Fland were two of the biggest names in the transfer portal, and each tested the NBA Draft waters before winding up in Gainesville.
Lee is in his last year of college eligibility and is already known as one of the greatest players to come through the University of Princeton. He'll look to prove himself at the SEC level after averaging 17.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists last season for the Tigers. Fland, as a true freshman, averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for Arkansas.
Both played point guard for their respective teams, but it's a toss-up who'll run the show in Gainesville. Given his experience, I'd lean toward Lee at the point to start the season, but Fland's abundance of talent could be hard to ignore.
Bench
AJ Brown
Micah Handlogten
Isaiah Brown
CJ Ingram
Alex Loyd
The 2025-26 Florida Gators are much deeper than their 2024-25 national-champion iteration. They'll have an influx of top-end talent coming in on the recruiting side, with the 23rd and 40th-ranked players in the 2025 class coming aboard in CJ Ingram and Alex Loyd. At 6-foot-2, Loyd could have a hold on the backup point guard role, while 6-foot-6 Ingram could be one of those aforementioned answers at small forward if Haugh struggles.
AJ Brown, a sharpshooting guard transfer from Ohio figures to play a prominent role off the bench, while his brother Isaiah, who appeared in 19 games for the Gators as a true freshman could take on a larger role.
Rounding out the second unit is Handlogten, who returned from a severe leg injury midway through last season and averaged 2.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game across 13.1 minutes.
Reserves
Alex Kovatchev
Urban Klavzar
Cooper Josefsberg
Viktor Mikic
Olivier Rioux