Florida tops SI's way-too-early rankings post transfer portal closes

The Florida Gators appear to be back at the top of the men's basketball world, a full year separated from the program's third national championship.

After the 2025-26 campaign ended on a sour note, losing in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament before being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round, Todd Golden is getting the gang back together for another run at sports immortality with a roster that includes several members from that title-winning season.

The returns of Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon from the NBA draft, bolstered by the possibility that Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Chinyelu will come back to Gainesville as well after testing the draft waters, are the cornerstone of next season's lofty optimism. What was arguably the best frontcourt in Division I will once again be a superlative force on the collegiate parquet.

Florida will also get back two of its primary guards from last season — Boogie Fland, who benefited from the experience he gained last year, and Urban Klavžar, who was the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year. Four of those five players sans Fland were significant contributors to the 2025 title-winning team; if Denzel Aberdeen's eligibility waiver is approved, that would make a fifth.

So it should come as little surprise that the Gators sit atop the way-too-early rankings seven months before the regular-season schedule begins. That includes Sports Illustrated's latest offering following the closure of the NCAA transfer portal, in which the Orange and Blue hold the No. 1 spot.

"You couldn’t have scripted a much better offseason for the Gators. The surprise return of projected lottery pick Thomas Haugh is a game-changer, one that vaults Florida into the top spot of our preseason rankings," author Kevin Sweeney begins.

"Assuming that starting center Rueben Chinyelu withdraws from the draft, the Gators will return more than 80% of their scoring from a team that earned a No. 1 seed and won the SEC by three games a year ago. The frontcourt with Haugh, Chinyelu and another potential first-rounder in Alex Condon is the best in America," he continues.

"Plus, the roster could look even better by November if Denzel Aberdeen’s waiver for a fifth season of eligibility is approved by the NCAA, buoying a backcourt currently anchored by Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar."