The Florida Gators are reloading this offseason in preparation to defend their men’s basketball national championship next season, but pulling off the repeat is no small feat. Still, Todd Golden’s gang is poised to enter the 2025-26 schedule among the top 25 programs in the nation.
According to ESPN basketball recruiting insider Jeff Borzello, the Orange and Blue are currently ranked 18th in his updated early top 25 rankings for the coming campaign. That moves Florida up one spot from the last update, wedging it between the 17th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini and 19th-ranked Creighton Bluejays.
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Along with the Gators, the Southeastern Conference has just six schools among the top 25, with the Arkansas Razorbacks ranked highest at No. 10.
Explaining Florida basketball’s ranking
“How will the Gators follow up an incredible season? It could depend on how Todd Golden rebuilds the perimeter,” Borzello begins.
“Walter Clayton Jr. is obviously the big departure, but Will Richard, Alijah Martin and Denzel Aberdeen are also out the door, with Aberdeen’s decision to transfer coming as a surprise. Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee was the biggest addition thus far, and AJ Brown was solid at Ohio, but Golden is still in pursuit of other perimeter pieces,” he continues.
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“Up front, the big question is the status of Alex Condon: He’s a borderline first-round pick and is going through the draft process. Thomas Haugh is a certain breakout candidate next season, while Rueben Chinyelu is also back down low.”
It is worth noting that Chinyelu accepted an invitation to the NBA G League Elite Camp ahead of the NBA draft combine, so his return to Gainesville is not quite set in stone as of yet.
Florida basketball’s projected starting lineup for 2025-26
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Xaivian Lee (16.9 PPG at Princeton)
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AJ Brown (13.2 PPG at Ohio)
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Rueben Chinyelu (6.1 PPG)
ESPN’s early NCAA top 25 rankings
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Louisville Cardinals (-2)
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Texas Tech Red Raiders (-4)
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Illinois Fighting Illini (PNR)
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Tennessee Volunteers (-4)
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Michigan State Spartans (-3)
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Alabama Crimson Tide (-3)
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North Carolina Tar Heels (-3)
Next in line
Ohio State BuckeyesTexas LonghornsSan Diego State AztecsUSC TrojansOregon Ducks
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball: Where Gators rank in ESPN’s latest early top 25
