Way-too-early men's basketball rankings has Florida Gators among top 3

It has been mere hours since the Michigan Wolverines triumphed over the UConn Huskies for the 2026 men's basketball title, and already the sports media is offering its outlooks for the 2026-27 campaign.

Among them is ESPN's Jeff Borzello, who issued his way-too-early rankings for the 2026-27 campaign shortly after the final horn of the national championship game. He admits that his approach to these probably premature prognostications has gotten looser over the years, so take these things with several grains of salt.

As far as the Florida Gators are concerned, Borzello is quite bullish on the Orange and Blue — but there is a catch. Their No. 3 spot in the rankings is entirely dependent upon the return of two of the program's frontcourt stars: Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon. Both have significant NBA potential and their decisions will ostensibly be based on where they project in the NBA draft.

"Will coach Todd Golden be able to run it back for a third consecutive season with the frontcourt duo of Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu?" Borzello rhetorically asks.

"Condon is projected in a similar draft range to last season, when he opted to return to Gainesville. Chinyelu really began to hit his offensive stride in SEC play this past season," he continues.

"If both return, look out. Boogie Fland is already set to come back, while Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown both saw their roles expand as the season progressed. Expect the Gators to be aggressive in the transfer portal for a shotmaking wing."

The transfer portal opened at midnight on Tuesday and will play a significant role in how these rankings shake out down the line. And if either or both Condon and Chinyelu depart for the next level, the portal will be even more crucial for the Gators after both Micah Handlogten and Olivier Rioux decided to seek greener pastures.

Florida basketball's 2026-27 projected starting lineup

• Boogie Fland (11.7 PPG)
• Urban Klavzar (9.7 PPG)
• Isaiah Brown (5.6 PPG)
• Alex Condon (14.9 PPG)
• Rueben Chinyelu (11.2 PPG)

Men's college basketball 2026-27 way-too-early rankings

1. Michigan
2. Duke
3. Florida
4. UConn
5. Arizona
6. Michigan State
7. Arkansas
8. Illinois
9. Virginia
10. Houston
11. St. John's
12. Iowa State
13. Texas
14. Purdue
15. Saint Louis
16. TCU
17. USC
18. Nebraska
19. UNC
20. Alabama
21. Gonzaga
22. BYU
23. Missouri
24. Vanderbilt
25. Iowa

Next in line

• Tennessee Volunteers
• Kansas Jayhawks
• Miami Hurricanes
• Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Maryland Terrapins

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball a top-3 team in ESPN's way-too-early-rankings