He's back! Tommy Haugh says no to the NBA for one more year as a Gator

Tommy Haugh is returning for his senior season at Florida (Photo by Chris Spears)

"Most guys in my position in the draft, it would be a no-brainer to go to the NBA. It's not just the NIL. It's a chance to play with my boys. To play for coach [Todd] Golden. To go to the school I love to play for. It was definitely a tougher decision than last year, but it was best for my career and future." – Tommy Haugh, speaking to ESPN

Money isn’t everything. If it were, Tommy Haugh would be working out every day with a coach provided by his agent to prep for the NBA Draft where he could expect to be a lottery pick.

Instead, Haugh, a first team All-SEC and second team All-American, is returning to the University of Florida for his senior season. But, here’s the kicker: With the NCAA on the verge of enacting 5-for-5 eligibility legislation, Haugh actually has two years of college eligibility remaining. In other words, two more chances to move on to the NBA. Two more chances to go from a lower third of the lottery into the top ten picks.

But again, money isn’t everything. Haugh won’t be lacking for financial resources. NIL money will ensure he is well compensated. More important is a chance to play at least one more season for the Gators, this time with a happier ending. Florida’s last minute, 73-72, loss to Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament left a sour taste in Haugh’s mouth, something he hopes to remedy while playing for a Florida team that will project as a top three team when the 2026-27 season begins.

Speaking to ESPN, Haugh said, “I think that lit a fire underneath me. I [didn't] want my last memory of Florida basketball to be that."

In the days after the Iowa loss, Haugh seemed resigned to leaving Florida, but Golden told ESPN, "When the season ended the way it did for us, it was a little bit of a punch in the stomach. Allowed a little more to reflect. Not only on that game, but how the season ended and where we are. That moment allowed for this to happen."

Haugh’s roomie and best friend Alex Condon already made the decision to return for his senior season a couple of weeks ago. Condon was a second team All-SEC selection who projected as a second rounder in the NBA Draft. Denzel Aberdeen, a key reserve on the 2025 Florida NCAA championship team who spent last season at Kentucky, has transferred back to UF. With the 5-for-5 legislation about to go on the books, Aberdeen won’t need a waiver for a fifth season.

Rueben Chinyelu has declared for the NBA Draft, but left the door open for his return to Florida. People who know Chinyelu believe it’s 99 percent certain Chinyelu, the national defensive player of the year and a top three rebounder nationally, will be back.

With point guard Boogie Fland already announced as a returnee, Florida will present the most experienced and one of the most imposing starting lineups in the entire country – Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu up front; Fland and Aberdeen on the perimeter – and bring experience off the bench in SEC sixth man of the year Urban Klavzar, the Brown brothers (Isiah and AJ), CJ Ingram, Alex Lloyd and Alex Kovatchev. Gary Parrish, the college basketball guru at CBS Sports has already elevated Florida to the No. 1 position in his Top 25 and-1 rankings. It’s almost certain that ESPN, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated and others will follow suit.

After spending two years as a reserve who almost exclusively played in Florida’s front court, Haugh moved to the wing last season, started and flourished in the new role, averaging 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He has scored 1,111 points in his Florida career, which places him among the top 50 all-time scorers in school history.

Condon averaged 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Chinyelu averaged 10.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Fland averaged 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. At Kentucky, Aberdeen was good for 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Klavzar, who hit 40.6 percent of his threes, scored 9.6 points while Isaiah Brown averaged 5.5 as a sophomore. AJ Brown took a redshirt last year, but he scored 13.2 per game at Ohio U in 2025.

This is a team with size, firepower, experience and a coach who has already won more than 100 games in four years with an NCAA title to show for his efforts. It’s not over-hype to regard the Gators as the team to beat for next season months ahead of the first game in November.

Golden knows the expectations will be through the roof, but he has a team well prepared to deal with them.

"Getting this group of guys back together for one last run, they're going to have a lot of attention and notoriety, a lot of it deserved," Golden told ESPN. "We're going to have a ton of pressure, a ton of eyeballs on us this year. But it's a privilege. Use it to fuel us the right way. Can't allow it to splinter us. But we'd much rather be the hunted than the hunters. We just have to accept there's a lot of pressure that comes with that."

For Haugh it is homecoming. He wasn’t pressured to return but rather made the decision to come back to play another season with his best friends and perhaps get a second national championship in three years.

“They didn't do much recruiting,” Haugh told ESPN. “I grew up a Florida fan. Tim Tebow. The back-to-back national championships. The 2014 team, I remember. They didn't really have to sell me."

FLORIDA ROSTER AS OF APRIL 21, 2026

Seniors/graduated (1): Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185)

Portal (2): Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR); Micah Handlogten (7-1, 260)

Returning (11): Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 195, JR); AJ Brown (6-5, 210, RJR); Alex Kovatchev (6-5, 195, RSO); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO); Isaiah Brown (6-5, 210, SO); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 260, SO); CJ Ingram (6-7, 210, FR); Alex Lloyd (6-4, 180, FR)

Signed (1): Jones Lay (7-0, 230)

From the portal (1): Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 190, SR, from Kentucky)