Have the Gators ever had a better late game closer than Walter Clayton Jr. (Photo by Chris Spears) Of the eight games the Gators lost last season, seven were by a combined 25 points: Arizona (6), TCU (4), Duke (1), UConn (4), Missouri (2), Auburn (7) and Iowa (1). The other loss was to Vanderbilt (17). Arizona and UConn are in the Final Four and it’s possible they could meet for the national championship on Monday. Duke and Iowa made the Elite Eight. TCU and Missouri made the NCAA Tournament as did Vanderbilt. Auburn plays tonight in the NIT semifinals. Not a cheap loss to a bad team in the bunch.   When the Gators won the 2025 national championship, they were the undisputed kings of close call wins and comebacks. Last year’s team was unfazed by white knuckles circumstances in the final minutes of a game. Comebacks? They were the comeback kids. In the NCAA Tournament alone they came back from 10 with 7:47 to go to beat Texas Tech in the Elite Eight game in San Francisco. In the semifinals, they were down 12 in the second half to No.1 overall seed Auburn. In the championship game, Houston had the Gators by 12 and on the ropes in the second half. The Gators beat Texas Tech by five, Auburn by six and Houston by two. During the regular season, the Gators came from 14 down in the final minutes for a 1-point win over South Carolina. The Gators led that one by all of 43 seconds. In Athens, the Gators trailed Georgia by 25 points in the first half, but rallied to take the lead in the final two minutes only to give out of gas.   It could be argued that this year’s Florida team could have and should have beaten Arizona, TCU, Duke, UConn, Missouri and Iowa. Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory in those six. The Gators probably could have won the Auburn game but they never seemed in synch the entire 40 minutes. Still, a shot here, a shot there, one or two fewer turnovers and a stop or two and that’s a win. Vandy? Forget about it. For reasons no one can pinpoint, the Gators were a no show that game.   So what was the difference? Why is it the 2025 national championship team was aces at clutch your pearls and take a deep breath time and this year’s team found creative ways to wilt when it mattered?   The best argument that can be made is the 2025 team had three guys – Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin – who not only wanted to take the shots that mattered but wanted to guard the guys on the other team who take the big shots when the clock was winding down toward all zeroes. Walt gets well-deserved credit for his shot making in big games, but he was a far better defender than anyone wants to give him credit for. Just ask Emanuel Sharp of Houston. Richard made the shot that beat South Carolina, but he also made huge defensive plays in the Auburn and Houston Final Four wins. His offense carried the Gators until they mounted the comeback against Houston. Martin was an in your face defender who had a habit of showing up where the ball was and turning it into much needed points. The dunk against UConn and the burst of speed dunk late against Auburn come to mind.   Alijah Martin's dunk on UConn helped seal the deal last year (Photo by Chris Spears) Those guys were unafraid of big moments, no matter which end of the court they were playing. That’s partly because what is in their DNA but also because experience taught them how to handle difficult late game situations. The hearts of Clayton, Richard and Martin might have felt ready to explode out the chest and stick to the nearest wall, but you would have never known it by outward appearance. And you would have never known it by late game performances. Those three were closers, among the best we've seen in college basketball in a number of years. What the Gators lacked this year were closers.   Now, this is not to insinuate that any of the 2025-26 Gators lacked the demeanor it takes to do the things that win close games, but we can draw a few conclusions from the results: (1) It took awhile, perhaps too long, for the real chemistry between Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to develop which proved costly in November and December when the Gators started the season 5-4; (2) there was never a go-to guy established for late game situations, evident in all the close call losses; and (3) with the exception of the first Vanderbilt game and the three Kentucky games every Florida win was decided by 10 or more points, which might have hurt when the games got tight.   Lee and Fland had some late game moments when they were superb, but Fland committed crucial turnovers late in the losses to Duke and UConn and his missed defensive assignment in the Iowa loss was critical. Lee had a miserable game shooting the ball against Arizona to start the season and he ended the season against Iowa when he elected to try to pass the ball instead of taking the last shot. The lasting memory of Lee is the Iowa game. It’s easy to say if given a second chance he would have taken the shot or tried to draw a foul, but there are no do-overs.   Urban Klavzar is the only true proven shooter returning for next season (Photo by Chris Spears) Lee has exhausted his eligibility and is headed for the pros. Fland will be back next year as the lead guard. He was a 24 percent 3-point shooter last season and for the Gators to challenge for SEC supremacy and to make a strong NCAA run next year, that has to improve. Urban Klavzar shot 40.6 percent from three but he’s too easy to double up if someone else isn’t a legitimate threat to make an outside shot. The Brown brothers – Isaiah and AJ – are capable shooters so that will help. AJ took a redshirt after his transfer from Ohio U where he shot 38.8 percent from three during the 2024-25 season. In high school, Alex Lloyd was an absolute sniper and CJ Ingram, who could wind up playing the Tommy Haugh role next year, showed late season that he has developed a good looking deep shot. His sample size – 16 threes – is small but he hit eight of them including five of his last seven attempts.   Golden likes a big, fast team that runs the floor. How big the Gators are will be determined by who, if any of the fearsome foursome of Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten return. It’s entirely possible that all four will be gone and it’s not out of the question that Condon, Chinyelu and Handlogten will be back. If two or more bigs are gone, expect Golden to dip into the portal for at least two in the 6-10 to 7-1 range. If Condon, Chinyelu and Handlogten come back he’ll probably take one from the portal to go with returnee Viktor Mikic and freshman Jones Lay.   But whether it’s a big team that can pound away in the paint or one that is perimeter driven, Golden has to find guys who want to take and can make the last shot.  It is imperative to find one or more closers.   COACHING STUFF Consensus opinion was LSU broke the bank when it fired football coach Brian Kelly and poached Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. Apparently, LSU has money no one knew about because in hiring Will Wade away from North Carolina State, the boosters are on the hook for $200 million in contract obligations.   Wade was fired with cause by LSU four years ago but after four years of the basketball program spinning its wheels, Matt McMahon was fired and Wade was re-hired. It should be noted that all the things Wade was fired for are now legal. This is why we say NIL stands for now it’s legal.   North Carolina State was quick replacing Wade with Justin Gainey, the top assistant for Rick Barnes at Tennessee.   McMahon was the only SEC coach who was fired but there is an outside possibility that the Vanderbilt job will open if North Carolina can’t land Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Dusty May (Michigan) or Billy Donovan (Chicago Bulls). Mike Byington is considered the backup plan if UNC whiffs on the three top targets. His Vanderbilt buyout won’t break the UNC bank and he’s familiar with the state since he played collegiately at UNC-Wilmington. Smart money is on Donovan.   Bill Self has announced he will be back at Kansas for 2026-27. Self has had some heart issues in recent years so it was thought he might call it a career.   Keep an eye on Arizona State, which lured Randy Bennett away from Saint Mary’s. Bennett has some health issues of his own, but says he will be back on the job soon. His health issues could influence the transfer decisions of Paulius Murauskas, 7-3 Andrew McKeever and freshman stud Dillan Shaw.   The way too early coaches hot seat for next year starts with Mark Pope at Kentucky. Another season with 10 or more losses or failing to get to the second NCAA weekend will make him a goner. Lamont Paris at South Carolina has a foot out the door already. Steven Pearl and Auburn play in the NIT semifinals tonight. He can buy a lot of good will with the AU faithful if he wins the tournament.   SEC IN THE PORTAL Florida Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR )   Georgia Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185, SO); Dylan James (6-9, 235, JR); Somto Cyril (6-11, 260, SO); Jackson McVey (7-1, 240, FR)   Kentucky Jaland Lowe (6-2, 170, JR)   LSU Dedan Thomas Jr. (6-1, 178, JR); Jalen Reed (6-10, 230, SR); Mazi Mosley (6-5, 169, FR); Matt Gilhool (6-11, 213, FR)   Mississippi State Jamarion Davis-Fleming (6-10, 240, FR)   Missouri Anthony Robinson II (6-2, 175, JR); Sebastian Mack (6-3, 195, JR)   Ole Miss Eduardo Klafke (6-5, 190, SO); Ilias Kamardine (6-5, 185, FR); South Carolina Eli Ellis (6-6, 192, FR); Elijah Strong (6-8, 225, JR); EJ Walker (6-7, 253, FR)   Tennessee Tyler Lundblade (6-5, 195, SR, from Belmont)   FINAL FOUR Michigan vs. Arizona: Michigan is tall, deep and plays great defense. Arizona is every bit as tall, plays great defense and has more quality coming off the bench. Michigan can’t win unless it bombs away from three. Arizona can win with or without making a ton of threes. I think Arizona’s Braden Burries and Tobe Awaka coming off the bench as the difference makers. Michigan is favored by 1.5 points but I like Arizona for the win.      Illinois vs. UConn: The Illini have the tallest team in the country and they come at you in waves, but do they have anyone who can handle Tarris Ross, who has gone beast mode for the tournament? UConn has the discipline and head coach Dan Hurley brings championship DNA. The Illini are 1.5-point favorites. I like UConn to win this one.

Sumrall flits about practice like a bee spreading pollen. (Chris Spears Photo)   Jon Sumrall excedes our expectations as a communicator.   There was a time — not so long ago — when covering Florida football felt a little like trying to read smoke signals in a hurricane.   You showed up. You waited. You asked. And mostly, you got… not much.   Billy Napier ran a tight ship, buttoned up at the lips and at the collar, and if there was information to be had, it came out like toothpaste from a nearly empty tube. It would have been quicker waiting for a puff of smoke out of the Vatican.   Access was scarce. And candor? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly flowing down University Avenue.   Then along came Jon Sumrall.   And folks, the man doesn’t just open the door — he knocks the hinges off.   If Napier was guarded, Sumrall is a full-on motormouth. And that’s not a complaint — it’s a joyful revival.   He talks. He jokes. He answers. He leans in. Big media, small media — it doesn’t matter. If you’ve got a question, he’s got a thought, and usually a pretty honest one at that. His philosophy? Simple enough: “Be who I am.”   Turns out, who he is… is refreshing.   There’s no such thing as an off day in this program anymore — not with this coach, not with this wiring. He moves like a man chased by a stopwatch, fueled by equal parts purpose and paranoia, convinced there’s always one more call to make, one more hand to shake, one more edge to find.   They’ve started to notice: The lights are on earlier, the texts come later and the pace never quite slows to a walk.   He’s a connector by nature, a relentless dot-linker, working the state — and beyond — like a bee in full bloom season, pollinating every corner of his football colony. High school coaches, boosters, parents, former players, seventh graders with a Hudl page — nobody’s too small, nobody’s off the grid. Because in his mind, every conversation is a seed and every seed has a chance to grow into something Florida can use on Saturdays.   No days off? That’s not a slogan. That’s just how he’s built.   Spend five minutes around Sumrall and you’ll hear everything from roster evaluations to life lessons pulled from the most unlikely places. Urban Meyer. Ron Zook. Liam Coen. Even his son’s middle school practice.   “I want to learn something from everybody,” he says. Imagine that — a coach at Florida still curious.   On the field, the reviews from spring camp are about what you’d expect this time of year: Flashes of promise, mixed with the occasional head-scratcher.   “Every day,” Sumrall admits, “I’ve seen some plays where I’m like, ‘That’s it.’ And then every day, I’ve seen some plays where I’m like, ‘That ain’t it.’ ”   Translation? There’s work to do.   But there’s also something else —something this program has been starving for.   Juice. Energy. A sense that somebody’s actually pushing the gas pedal.   “They were playing like their hair was on fire,” said former Gator Caleb Banks after watching practice. That’s not coach-speak. That’s a player recognizing a pulse. Sumrall has already started identifying his tone-setters.   Cornerback Ben Hanks III is earning praise as the most consistent in the secondary. Georgia Tech transfer tight end Luke Harpring is the “best all-around” at his spot so far.   And up front, Brendan Bett and Penn State transfer TJ Shanahan are the kind of linemen, Sumrall says, who “crack the egg”—the kind you don’t have to wonder about when it comes to physicality.   And then there’s Myles Graham, fresh off shoulder surgery, not even fully live yet — but already flashing instincts that make coaches smile and quarterbacks uneasy.   “He just wants to pop pads,” Sumrall grinned. “That’s who he is.”   That might be the most telling line of the spring.   Because this Florida team, for all its talent, hasn’t always played like it wanted to hit somebody.   Ditto the recuperating WR blazer Dallas Wilson, who can spook the DBs as he’s starting to run a little.   Sumrall noticed. But he’s not particularly interested in making friends or being liked while fixing it.   Take tailback Jadan Baugh — a gifted, willing player by all accounts. Sumrall isn’t handing out back slaps.   “I don’t care if he likes me,” he said. “I hope he respects me.”   That’s not cold. That’s clarity.   And maybe that’s the biggest difference so far — not just the volume of Sumrall’s voice, but the sharpness of his message.   He’ll joke about being a “great coach when I’ve got great players,” even tossing a wink toward NIL efforts.   He’ll rib Ron Zook about aging. But underneath it all is a guy who knows exactly what he’s looking for — and isn’t afraid to say when he’s not seeing it.   “I’m not patient,” Sumrall often admits. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t need to have some patience.”   In other words, he’s human. And he’s honest about it. Which, around here, feels like a bit of a breakthrough.   It’s only spring. Nobody’s hanging banners. Nobody’s booking Atlanta. And there are still plenty of “that ain’t it” moments to clean up.   But for the first time in a while, Florida football sounds different.   More open. More urgent. More alive.   And if nothing else, at least now when you ask a question… you might actually get an answer.   I would like to add “amen“ and “thank you” on behalf of the working media who covers University of Florida football.

Will Rueben Chinyelu return to Florida or bolt for the NBA (Photo by Chris Spears) When Rueben Chinyelu was announced as the National Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), it confirmed what Todd Golden has been saying for months. With the 2026 award in hand, is it possible that Chinyelu will be back in his Florida uniform with a chance to not only win the defensive player of the year award a second time, but get the Gators back in the Final Four?   Golden along with the entire Gator Nation is waiting decisions from Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Micah Handlogten. Will Chinyelu and Condon declare for the NBA Draft and will Handlogten get the NCAA waiver that will allow him another year of eligibility?   Condon is projected a second rounder in nearly every mock NBA draft, but he’s close enough to late first round that the NBA Combine and individual workouts could slide him in among the top 30 selections. In Florida’s last 15 games, Condon averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds. He finished second on the team with 3.6 assists per game and averaged 1.4 blocked shots. He’s not a 3-point shooter but his development of a deadly floater from 10 feet on in is a real plus.   Chinyelu is projected middle of the second round at the earliest. He finished fourth in the country in rebounding (11.2) while scoring 10.9 points per game. He’s an exceptional defender who is mobile enough to take on guards on the perimeter while being an imposing presence in the paint. His offensive game is raw, confined to baby hooks inside five feet and dunks. His lack of a jump shot even out to 10-12 feet hurts his draft stock since the NBA has so many bigs who can shoot from the foul line on out to three.   All first rounders get multi-year, guaranteed money contracts. It’s rare that a second rounder gets multiple years and guaranteed money although it has been done. Chandler Parsons got a four-year guaranteed deal worth $3.7 million with the Houston Rockets back in 2011, but that’s a rarity. Kennedy Chandler in 2022 got a 4-year deal worth $7.1 million as a second rounder, all the money guaranteed, but he was waived in 2023. Since the money was guaranteed he was paid through last season.   Second round picks get contracts that are guaranteed, partially-guaranteed and 2-way deals. Most second rounders get the NBA minimum (somewhere around $1.2 million) if they stick with the team. Many second rounders are signed to 2-way deals which means 50 percent of the NBA minimum plus NBA per game for every game they play when called up to the big club.   Thanks to NIL money, both Condon and Chinyelu could make more money coming back to Florida if their agents aren’t assured of a multi-year contract for the second round.   Handlogten’s fate is in the hands of the NCAA but considering many of the recent rulings and court cases, there is a good chance he returns.   Here is the Florida roster breakdown:   GONERS Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR): Does he go with the G-League or leave for Europe? His game translates nicely to the Euro style.   Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR): He’s in the portal, hoping to land somewhere that he can play.   AWAITING DECISIONS Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR): He’s moved up in many mock drafts to lottery level. Figure he will go somewhere between 12 and 16, which means four years and somewhere in the $20-27-million range. Could he come back? Anything is possible. Will he come back? Don’t bet even $1 dollar on it.   Alex Condon dunks on Kentucky (Photo by Chris Spears) Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR:): ESPN’s latest two-round mock draft has Condon going No. 33 to Memphis. NBAdraft.net has him slipping into the first round at No. 29 to San Antonio. Nail biter of a decision to be made here.   Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR): Nearly every mock draft has Chinyelu somewhere in the 40s of the second round. ESPN’s mock has him No. 47 to the Magic. Seems wise for him to return. He will definitely make more money at UF.   Micah Handlogten (7-1, 260, SR): He has appealed to the NCAA for an extra season. There is no telling what the NCAA will rule, but considering some of the decisions that have been made, plus the chance that Micah can take his appeal to the courts, there is a very good chance he will get the waiver to return.   Viktor Mikic (6-11, 260, SO): He’s only been seen in mop up minutes in real games, but he practices hard and has a strong work ethic. He can shoot the ball from the 3-point line with a very nice stroke. Played last summer for Serbia’s 19-and-under team at the FIBA Euros.   Alex Kovatchev (6-5, 195, RSO): Australian who played sparingly after transferring in from Sacramento State. Very good practice player and good defensively.   CJ Ingram (6-7, 210, FR): He knows he will have first shot at Tommy Haugh’s job, so why would he leave? He has all the athletic ability in the world, he’s developed a very nice 3-point shot and he’s a legacy of one of the more popular Gators of all time (Cornelius Ingram). He has grown since the start of the 2025-26 season and it wouldn’t be surprising if he tops out somewhere between 6-8 and 6-9.   COMMITTED TO RETURN Boogie Fland is set to return for another season (Photo by Chris Spears) Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO): He can handle the ball, play great defense and get the ball up the court in a hurry. Has to become a consistent 3-point shooter and eliminate turnovers.   Urban Klavzar (6-1, 190, JR): SEC Sixth Man of the Year. Should thrive in a starting role. True 3-point bomber who hit 40.6 percent of his threes. Could he be on the Slovenia roster for the FIBA Euro World Cup tournament this summer?   AJ Brown (6-5, 210, RJR): Excellent 3-point shooter who, after transferring from Ohio U, took a redshirt to rehab his surgically repaired shoulder. Very physical defender.   Isaiah Brown (6-5, 210, JR): Played himself into the rotation with his defense and energy. His 3-point shooting was a plus. He has star quality.   Alex Lloyd (6-3, 180, FR): Seems more of a combo guard than a pure point. Excellent shooter from deep. Needs to add 10-20 pounds of muscle to handle the rigors of the SEC.     INTERESTING NAMES IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL Paulius Mauraskas (6-8, 235, JR, Saint Mary’s): Yes, he’s a one-and-done but if he’s interested in UF then take him. He’s powerful, can handle the ball and he can shoot. The thought is he will follow Randy Bennett to Arizona State but if he’s available, take him. Lithuanian from the Zalgris organization.   Andrew McKeever (7-3, 285, SO, Saint Mary’s): You can’t teach tall (7-3) and he’s got aircraft carrier size. At Saint Mary’s he did what he was asked to do, stick back misses in the paint, rebound and scare people from venturing into the paint. Averaged 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds. Will he follow Randy Bennett to Arizona State?   Christian Hammond (6-4, 195, SO, Santa Clara): There is a lot of talk that Florida is already in the mix. As a sophomore he averaged 15.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for an NCAA team. Outstanding defender who shot 39.3 percent from the 3-point line.   Joel Foxwell (6-1, 180, FR, Portland): Australian transplant who is exceptional in the open court. Great ball handler and passer who averaged 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, which ranked 13 th nationally. Needs work on his shot, but is an outstanding distributor. Averaged 1.5 steals per game and 80.7 percent from the foul line.   Ben Defty (7-0, 255, SO, Boston University): German native who played high school basketball at a New England prep school. Defty was one of the most improved players in the country as a sophomore. Legitimate size, serious rim protector. Averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game.   Adam Olsen (6-8, 225, JR, South Alabama): Serious shooter who hit 39.1 percent from three. Spent two years playing in Canada before arriving in the US at South Alabama. Would the NCAA give him one or two years eligibility? Averaged 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. Does he rebound well enough?   Sam Orme (6-9, 220, SO, Belmont): First and foremost, Florida’s last transfer from Belmont (Will Richard) turned out pretty well, didn’t he? Averaged 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 39.7 percent on 3-pointers as a sophomore. Career average 11.2 points and 38.7 percent on threes.   Neoklis Avdalas (6-9, 215, FR, Virginia Tech): He can play all three wing positions quite well, but is most comfortable at the point. As a freshman, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He’s 20 years old and from Greece.   Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, JR, Louisville): If circumstances require a one-and-done big, then this might be a good choice for the Gators. Played two years in the Euro leagues then spent last year at Louisville where he averaged 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Very physical.   Brandon Benjamin (6-8, 240, FR, Fairfield): Rebounding machine who averaged 14.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as the only big on a vertically challenged team. Three years eligibility.   Baye Ndongo (6-9, 250, JR, Georgia Tech): Native of Senegal who has scored 1,133 points (12.6 per game) and grabbed 762 rebounds (8.5 per game) as a 3-year starter for a bad team. A possibility if the Gators are looking for a one-and-done type who allows young players to develop.   Brant Byers (6-8, 200, SO, Miami OH): He will be one of the most sought after players in the portal. He’s a 6-8 wing guard who can shoot (39.1 percent from three), rebound and handle the ball. Averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds for Miami. Was one of the best late game clutch shooters in the country.   SEC TRANSFERS Florida Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR): He’s still got a long way to go and he’s nowhere near ready for play in the Southeastern Conference. He needs to go somewhere that he’ll have a chance to earn meaningful minutes so he can develop.   Georgia Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185, SO): Huge loss for Mike White. Big time scorer (17.4 last season) who averaged 15.1 as a freshman at California. Atlanta native. Will be a priority recruit for Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn.   Dylan James (6-9, 235, JR): Big and strong but an average rebounder and not much on the offensive end. Winter Haven native who could wind up at South Florida or UCF.   Somto Cyril (6-11, 260, SO): Huge loss for Georgia. One of the nation’s top rim protectors who averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Nigerian who played high school basketball at Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, same school that several Gators including Mikic have come from. Expect Florida to be involved.   Kentucky Jaland Lowe (6-2, 170, JR): Transferred to UK from Pitt but played in only eight games due to injury. Probably will get another year because of the injury. In the eight games he played averaged 8.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Not a very good shooter,   LSU Dedan Thomas Jr. (6-1, 178, JR): Instant offense. He can score and he was leading the SEC in assists before he got hurt. Averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists. Spent his first two seasons at UNLV and was once a high priority Florida recruit. Played in 16 games this past season and will likely appeal for another year.   Jalen Reed (6-10, 230, SR): He’s only played in 14 games the last two years because of injuries, so he’s almost guaranteed to get at least one year more of eligibility. Was a priority recruit for UF in the Mike White days.     Mazi Mosley (6-5, 169, FR): He was a 4-star recruit out of high school but averaged only 6.3 minutes in 19 games as a freshman.   Mississippi State Jamarion Davis-Fleming (6-10, 240, FR): He’s got size and potential. Shouldn’t last long on the portal with three years eligibility remaining. Averaged 3.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 20 minutes per game.   Missouri Anthony Robinson II (6-2, 175, JR): He’s a Tallahassee native who probably winds up playing his last year at FSU. Averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists at Mizzou last season.   Ole Miss Eduardo Klafke (6-5, 190, SO): Brazilian with shooting skills but not much in the way of defense. Averaged 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game off the bench.   Ilias Kamardine (6-5, 185, FR): This is a big loss for the Rebels. A former pro in France, Kamardine averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a freshman. Have to figure he’s one-and-done wherever he goes since he’s already 22 years old.   South Carolina Eli Ellis (6-6, 192, FR): Averaged 8.9 points. Arrived at SC with a reputation as a shooter but hit only 28 percent of his threes.   Elijah Strong (6-8, 225, JR): Third year guy who spent his first two seasons at Boston College. Averaged 10 points and 2.3 rebounds.   EJ Walker (6-7, 253, FR): Physically very strong but lacks height to play inside in the SEC. Averaged 2.9 points and 2.7 rebounds.

Hoping to get back on track vs Stetson (UAA Photo) They fell one pitch shy with two out against Arkansas By EDDIE GILLEY GatorBaitMedia.com The Gators softball team was team was hoping to bounce back Wednesday night at Stetson after a tough weekend when it was just one pitch away from leaving Arkansas with a series win.  With two outs and two on in the bottom of the seventh inning, Gator Ace Keagan Rothrock delivered the pitch to Dakota Kennedy who got just enough of the pitch to send it over the left field fence for a walk-off three run home run to defeat the Gators 6-4. It was the second three run homer of the day given up by Rothrock. The Gators once led 4-0 before the Razorbacks came back to take the series 2 games to 1. The Gators won game two 12-6 on Saturday. They scored 7 runs in innings 2-5 after trailing 1-0 in the first. Arkansas responded with 5 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to take the game to the 7th inning trailing by one. The Gators put up 5 runs in the top of the 7th to seal the victory. Katelynn Oxley picked up the win to move to 3-0 on the season. Rothrock recorded her 3 save coming in to close the door in the 6th and 7th innings. Ella Wesolowski, Kenleigh Cahalan, Kendall Grover and Cassidy McLellan all hit home runs for the Gators. The Gator bats also contributed 6 doubles on the night.   Thy lost the Friday night game 6-2. Rothrock took the loss and with the loss on Sunday, she now stands at 17-4 on the season. The Gator offense was held to a season-low 3 hits on the night.   They had a chance to win the series despite a rare series of struggling at the plate by Taylor Shumaker who went 1-8 on the weekend. Jocelyn Erickson hit .300 which is great by many standards but far below her average coming into the weekend. Other than the cold bats on the cold Friday night, the rest of the team picked up their leaders at the dish with enough runs and hits to potentially win the series.  However, a bloop single with one out in the seventh by Arkansas career hit leader, Raegan Johnson, a walk to Brinli Bain, a strike out of Ella McDowell, and the fateful blow by Kennedy spoiled their effort. The wind was definitely a factor on Sunday, blowing out both the dramatic walk-off homer and the two-run homer by Kenleigh Cahalan of the Gators in the 1st inning to center field.  Usually if you can get one win on the road in the SEC and win every series at home you have a good chance of winning the SEC Softball crown. If you can win the road series and sweep at home those are bonuses. So far the Gator program has been able to reach those goals. Time will tell if this tough loss will come back to bite the Gators chance of winning the championship. The Gators, who defeated the Hatters, 3-2, on March 25 in Gainesville, are looking for their 14th straight win over Stetson going back to the 2006 season. First pitch was set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Stetson Softball Complex.

Straight ahead to stardom. Jadan Baugh knows the way. (Chris Spears photo)   Is Jadan Baugh About To Become A Superstar?   Jaden Baugh might be the worst-kept secret in Gainesville — which, in a town that leaks football opinions like a screen door on a submarine, is saying something.   The real question isn’t whether Florida has a running back. It’s whether Buster Faulkner has been quietly sitting on a Sunday thoroughbred while everyone else was arguing about the paint job on the wagon.   Is Jaden Baugh a superstar in the making?   Well, let’s not go pinning a gold jacket on the kid just yet. This is still college football, where one good year gets you a podcast and two gets you a parking spot. But if you’ve been paying attention — and not everybody has — there’s something brewing here that doesn’t feel like your standard-issue 1,000-yard back.   It feels different. Baugh didn’t arrive with trumpets. He showed up in 2024 as a true freshman and looked like he’d taken a wrong turn out of an NFL weight room. Then in 2025, he stopped asking permission and ran for 1,170 yards, eight touchdowns, and another ten total scores, averaging 5.3 a carry while dragging SEC defenders around like loose luggage.   First 1,000-yard rusher at Florida in a decade.   That alone ought to get your attention — or at least wake up the folks who’ve been sleepwalking through the Gators’ run game since the Muschamp era.   But the number that really matters isn’t the yardage. It’s the 81 forced missed tackles, eighth in the nation. That’s not blocking. That’s not scheme. That’s a running back making business decisions for defenders who suddenly remember they left the stove on.   At 6-foot-1, 231 pounds, Baugh looks like he should run through people — and he does — but what’s been underestimated is how often he runs away from them.   There’s a slipperiness there, a little daylight magic that doesn’t show up on the roster sheet. At practice Tuesday, the head coach took note: “He's a hard tackle, man ... he's been fun to watch," Sumrall said. And also noted he bounced off a tackle and made a spin move that caught his eye.   And here’s the part that should make defensive coordinators reach for antacids: Baugh caught 33 passes, and probably could’ve caught 50 if anyone had bothered to make it a priority.   Now comes 2026, and the training wheels are off.   Jon Sumrall walks in with a new staff, a reshuffled backfield, and a pretty obvious centerpiece whether he wants one or not. Baugh isn’t sharing the spotlight anymore — he is the spotlight. A $1 million NIL deal says as much, and so does the fact that he told Texas “thanks, but no thanks” when the portal came calling.   That’s not just loyalty. That’s a player who knows exactly what he is.   CBS is already labeling him a breakout star, tossing around phrases like “top five running back in the nation.” NFL scouts, never ones for subtlety, are calling him a “2027 RB1 hiding in plain sight.”   Which, translated into plain English, means: “How did we miss this guy?”   Truth is, a lot of people did.   I didn’t.   First time I saw him — spring game, early enrollee, barely had a name stitched on the back of the jersey — I remember thinking, Who in the world is that? Big, fast, strong, and moving like he had somewhere else to be. You don’t need a stat sheet to recognize that combination. You just need eyes.   Back then, nobody was talking about him. Now they are. And maybe they should’ve been all along.   Give Billy Napier his due — he and his brother Matt helped spot Baugh early, and Jabbar Juluke closed the deal, flipping him from Arkansas and fending off Alabama like it was just another Tuesday. Recruiting gets graded in hindsight, and this one is starting to look like a blue-chip theft.   Even the new running backs coach, Chris Foster, got a firsthand taste of the drama — a Christmas Eve visit just to figure out who exactly he was inheriting, walking into a recruitment that still had one foot in the transfer portal and the other in Gainesville. He came away talking about Baugh’s football IQ and composure, which is coach-speak for “this kid isn’t guessing.”   And that matters. Because here’s the part people tend to forget when they start drawing up highlight reels: You can’t run the ball if the defense doesn’t respect it. And you can’t throw it if you can’t run it.   Florida may very well lean into a more pass-oriented system under Sumrall, but that’s fine — as long as Baugh is the reason defenses can’t cheat. The trick isn’t choosing between run and pass. The trick is making the other guy wrong, no matter what you call. That’s where Baugh lives.   So is he a superstar? Too early to say. But he’s not a secret anymore. And if the Gators finally build an offense that understands what it has — really understands it — then the rest of the country is about to find out what Gainesville already should know.   Sometimes the best player on the field isn’t the one they hyped. It’s the one they overlooked.   And those are the ones who usually make you pay for it.

Who will get picked? There's plenty of QB Competition. Philo takes a rep in Spring Ball. (UAA Photo)   It’s not who starts the season at quarterback, but who winds up there. There was something just a little different in the air over The Swamp Saturday morning — and no, it wasn’t just the familiar humidity settling back into its spring home. It was new. It was uncertain. And it was loud.   For the first time, Jon Sumrall walked his Florida Gators onto that historic field not as a visitor, not as a visiting team coordinator passing through, but as the man in charge. And if first impressions matter — and in this business they always do — then Sumrall’s first Swamp practice had a little edge to it.   You could feel it most at quarterback.   Because make no mistake, this is not a ceremonial spring. This is a job interview. And front and center stood Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones, two quarterbacks separated by style, background, and experience — but united by one undeniable truth: neither has been handed anything.   Not by Sumrall. Not by Buster Faulkner. Not by circumstance. Especially not by Faulkner. If there’s a gravitational force inside this quarterback room, it’s the offensive coordinator — a high-octane, sleeves-rolled-up, “let’s go right now” kind of football coach who doesn’t do idle.   And Philo knows him better than anyone because they served together at Georgia Tech.   “He was the first one to really believe in me,” Philo said, and there was no hesitation in it. No coach-speak. No polish. Just truth.   That belief goes back to Tech, where Faulkner saw something in Philo before the recruiting world fully caught on.   That matters. In a sport built on projection and promises, belief is currency.   It’s also why Philo followed him.   Not for guarantees — because there weren’t any.   Not for comfort — because this is anything but.   Philo made that clear. Faulkner didn’t bring him to Gainesville to anoint him. He brought him to compete.   And compete he is. Philo looks like a quarterback who understands the system because he does. The ball comes out on time. The reads are clean. There’s a rhythm to his game that matches Faulkner’s “multi-faceted” design — an offense that wants to stress you horizontally, vertically, and mentally all at once.   But then there’s Jones. And Jones doesn’t care what system you run — he’s going to test its limits anyway.   Where Philo is timing and trust, Jones is instinct and electricity. You can see it when plays break down, when structure dissolves and football becomes backyard again. That’s where Jones lives.   And that’s what makes this fascinating.   Because Faulkner’s offense needs both discipline and dynamism. It needs a quarterback who can deliver the ball to playmakers — something Philo pointed out as a hallmark of Faulkner’s system — but it also benefits from a player who can create when the playbook runs out of answers.   Saturday, there were moments for each.   A crisp intermediate throw from Philo that drew a nod from Faulkner — not a smile, mind you, because smiles are earned slowly around here.   Then a scramble-and-strike from Jones that made a handful of teammates let out that involuntary “whoa” that coaches pretend not to hear but absolutely do.   Sumrall watched it all with the practiced calm of a coach who knows this decision won’t be made in March.   But it’s started.   You’ll get varying reports from those who were there, but one insider who was there that I follow and trust on TwitterX said: “Quarterbacks looked good today, Philo with a slight edge.”   Sounds like the weather forecast “sunny, with partly cloudy skies.” But we get it. It’s going to take a minute.   Sumrall loves the competition and has been quick to remind us that the door is still open for others. He especially likes freshman Will Griffin, saying that as soon as he has all the tools in his tool kit, he’s going to be contending for reps.   And there are others in what amounts to a five -man depth chart — a nice problem to have!   And here’s the part worth remembering: This competition isn’t about who Faulkner likes more. If anything, Philo’s history with him makes this harder, not easier.   Because belief got him here. But performance will keep him here.   Faulkner is still that “fired-up guy” Philo described — pacing, correcting, demanding. The same coach who saw something early is now asking for more, louder, faster, better.   That’s the deal.   That’s always the deal.   So as the echoes bounced off the empty seats of The Swamp — seats that will be anything but empty come fall — the Gators come into this season with 18 straight sellouts — you could almost hear the question forming.   Not who starts. But who wins it.   And on this first day, in this first chapter of the Sumrall era, the only honest answer is this: Nobody yet. Which, in a place like Florida, makes it just about perfect.

Barberi's arm came In handy during the sweep (UAA Photoby Hannah White)   Florida Clinches First Road Series Win at Arkansas Since 2016       It didn’t look like a comeback story a couple of weeks ago. It looked like a spiral. Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators were scuffling, their head coach having survived a season-opening suspension, their bats silenced to the point of being no-hit, and their edge — so reliable for so long — suddenly nowhere to be found.   For a program built on toughness and timing, Florida had lost both. But baseball, like its best managers, has a memory for resilience.   On a tense Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville, with No. 4 Arkansas pressing and the tying run 90 feet away, Florida finished what felt unthinkable not long ago — a four-game surge against ranked teams, capped by a 7-6 escape that completed a road sweep and signaled something more important than a win streak. It was a snapback.   And it came with all the markings of a team rediscovering itself: Brendan Lawson and Ethan Surowiec swinging like middle-of-the-order anchors, combining for seven hits and a pair of home runs; timely hitting up and down the lineup; and, finally, a bullpen moment that didn’t crack.   Luke McNeillie, who had already given up two home runs and plenty of angst, stood on the mound in the ninth with everything wobbling again — and instead of letting it unravel, he snapped off the strikeout that stranded Arkansas and sealed something bigger than a game.   For O’Sullivan’s club, this wasn’t just about surviving another close call. It was about answering a miserable stretch with something definitive. After the suspension. After the no-hitter. After the doubt. They didn’t just respond — they pushed back with an amazing 17 hits Sunday.   Sully reminded us all of how quickly things can change.  “Well, it's a long season and it's amazing how things can change so quickly. That's the thing we've gotta remind our guys. As bad as we felt last weekend, we have a totally different feel this weekend, but it's a long season.”   The Gators have now beaten a Top 10 opponent in four straight games.   Is it too early to say Florida baseball is back? Or did it really ever leave?   Quick Jump Starts —What an incredible finish to the UConn-Duke game, a sort of reverse Christian Laettner with freshman Braylon Mullins making the game winner. —I was there 34 years ago to see Laettner’s launch but can’t imagine anything more dramatic than Mullins’ shot given the Huskies’ controversial coach Dan Hurley and how they clawed their way back from a 19-point deficit. --Had Mullins missed, I would have placed three of the Final Four correctly in my backets – an anomaly for me. You can guess the other miss. As my old pal Joe would say, I picked good but the Gators didn’t play good. --Tammi Reiss will retain Florida assistant Cynthia Jordan, who played for Dawn Staley at Temple and was previously at South Carolina. --Billy Donovan, when asked about his interest in UNC, kept his tone measured and reiterated in saying he is focused on coaching the Bulls for the rest of the season.     Spring Football, From What I Hear - Among the most impressive players in Saturday’s scrimmage were WR Eric Singletary and Edge LJ McCray. Oline struggled and is very much a work in progress. Scrimmage very organized. - Utilized different personnel groupings, which was impressive. - QBs got lots of reps, coaches had lots of energy. - QBs played well. Nobody separated. Very pleased to have both John Gruden and Urban Meyer speak to his team. They rode together Friday. Gruden encouraged the team to set the standard for effort and said the Gators are  a sleeping giant that should wake up. "It was a beautiful message and Urban kind of followed that up with what it all looked like and what it means to get this thing jump-started," Sumrall said. "I thought it was great for our guys to hear their perspective on what that looked like. This  is  a sleeping giant right now. We've got to wake it up."   An Up And Down   On a week of Tiger Trauma, when the really PGA Tour needed a pick-me-up, it got one with the comeback story of Gary Woodland, who won the Texas Children's Houston Open on Sunday in an emotional moment that seemed so improbable 30 months ago when he had brain surgery. Woodland looked better than ever at Memorial Park, taking a one-shot lead into the final round and stretching it to seven shots until coasting home to a trophy that felt as big as his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach in 2019. He closed with a 3-under 67 to win by five. The gallery paused chanting his name so Woodland could roll in a 5-foot par putt. He stretched both arms, exhaled and looked to the blue sky before his tears began pouring. “We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn't alone today,” Woodland said, his voice quivering with emotion. “Anyone struggling with something, I hope they see me and don't give up. Just keep fighting.”   It’s Legal  Now… Matt McMahon has been fired at LSU and NC State's Will Wade is back as head basketball coach. Wade was previously the head coach of the Tigers from 2017-24 LSU spending last 6 months: * Lane Kiffin contract: $91 million * Brian Kelly: $54 million buyout * Reported 2026 football roster: $40 million * Matt McMahon buyout: $8 million * Will Wade buyout: $3 million And Louisiana has one of the nation’s poorest economies?    You know the last team to beat Dan Hurley’s Huskies in the NCAA tournament? Yep. The 2024-25 national champions.

There are 24 million reasons not to, but Gator fans can dream about Haugh returning, can't they? (UAA Photo)     ‘You mean there’s still a chance?’     Somewhere between the deli counter at Publix and the checkout line, hope was born.   A guy on TwitterX swore he’s got inside information that Thomas Haugh is coming back. His source? “The guys down at Publix.”   Well now. If we’re taking recruiting tips from the cold cuts department, go ahead and pencil Florida into the Final Four and throw in a BOGO national title.   Because that’s about what it would take. Let’s be honest here, and just a little bit cynical about it: Tommy Haugh is not turning down roughly $4.5 million next season — the estimated  opening act of a four-year, $24 million NBA payday — to come back for another tour of UF duty, no matter how good the chicken tender sub is.   You can wish on it. You can dream on it. You can even tweet it.But don’t bet your mortgage on it.   First off he may not be a lottery pick although it looks like he is right in line as the 14th choice. But this gives us hope. And you understand why folks are clinging to the idea.   He was born to be a Gator — even way up there in Pennsylvania. Cut his teeth as a disciple of Tim Tebow, growing up with a Gator logo on his lunchbox in new Oxford.   We need to go slow here and burn the candle of hope, carefully exploring every possibility. Because players like Haugh don’t come around often and he's a true treasure. Not like this. Not packaged this way. Not with that combination of grit, growth, and good old-fashioned basketball conscience.   A year ago, he was the high-motor guy on a championship team — valuable, yes, but still filed under “glue.” This year, he became the whole toolbox.   Seventeen points a night. Six boards. A little bit of everything else. He stretched the floor, or at least made you think about it, doubling his three-point output and firing away with the kind of confidence that makes coaches sleep better and defenders lose theirs.   But numbers don’t really tell you who Thomas Haugh is. Start with the dirty work — the kind most folks avoid like a tax audit. Offensive rebounds in traffic. Defensive rotations that actually rotate. Loose balls that mysteriously end up in his hands because he wanted them more than the other guy. He defends. He switches. He scraps. He slides his feet like a guard and bangs like a forward. One possession he’s chasing a wing to the arc, the next he’s holding his ground as a small-ball five.   That’s not common. That’s currency.   And then there’s the part NBA people love most: He doesn’t need the ball to matter. Haugh cuts. He runs. He makes the extra pass. He plays like a guy who understands that five-man basketball is still, at its best, five-man basketball. In a league full of usage rates and isolation sets, that’s practically revolutionary.   Sure, there are nits to pick if you’re in a picking mood. He’s 22. He’s a “tweener,” whatever that means this week. His three-point percentage (32.6%) still needs a nudge from “interesting” to “reliable.”   But here’s the thing: Guys like this tend to stick because they defend. They stick because they rebound. They stick because they don’t hijack possessions or disappear when the game gets hard. And if that jumper keeps trending north, then you’re not just talking about sticking — you’re talking about staying.   For a long time. For a lot of money.   Which brings us back to Publix.   Would it be a dream if Tommy Haugh came back to Gainesville? Absolutely. With Todd Golden reloading and a core that could make some real noise, it would be the kind of storyline that keeps us all happy.   But dreams, like deli rumors, have a way of running into reality. And reality says this: Thomas Haugh has given Florida everything it could reasonably ask for — and then some.   He’s been a paragon of effort, a craftsman of the little things, and, yes, a purveyor of unmitigated joy.   Now it’s time for him to go get paid.   Even if the guys at Publix aren’t ready to admit it.

If anyone is up to the challenge of constructing a contender for next season, it's Todd Golden. By CARLTON REESE GatorBaitMedia.com   I must admit the difficulty of watching the NCAA Tournament since last week’s heartbreak at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes. We shouldn’t be here, yet here we are… mired in a deluge of “what if?” and “why didn’t we?” A week has passed and the moments still replay in my mind, an attempt to alter a reality that is more of a poison pill. This all started in Nashville. Tampa smelled like Nashville, even during moments of the Prairie View A&M game which ended in a false flag Gator victory. Make no mistake about it: this Florida basketball team was good enough to win another national championship and before the SEC Tournament, it seemed likely to do so. That all caved in during a gruesome win over Kentucky and a humbling slaughter at the hands of Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. Was the Kentucky victory a cautionary tale? Sure seems so. Did the Vanderbilt loss expose critical weaknesses of this team? Looks that way. For as great as Todd Golden has been at pressing buttons and pulling levers during his short tenure as UF head coach – this season may have been his best right up to the end – the final four games this season were likely his worst moments.  Strategies that may have seemed reasonable just did not work. Every decision made in 2025’s run to the title seemed laced with fairy dust, destined to deliver only moments of serendipity and glory. This season, what looked to be a successful building project ceased with two weeks to go and now we’re left looking at an unfinished Taj Mahal that looks as though it could be grand, but inside are unfurnished rooms and non-functional plumbing. Starting in Nashville, the Kentucky win came despite poor shooting and just about poor everything else. The defense was good, but Kentucky still missed a ton of open shots from 3-point range that saved the Gators. The loss to Vandy was a case of not standing up physically to the Commodores while at the same time conceding the long-range shots of their big men. Those concessions were intentional and blew up in Golden’s face as Vandy’s big men connected on 7 of 10 attempts from 3-point range. Even the first five minutes of the Prairie View game showed a strategy exploited by the opponent. Again, Florida decided intentionally to leave the 3-point shots unguarded and found themselves tied at 15-15 when the Gators decided to play the type of defense they had exhibited most of the year. In the end, the domination of Prairie View signaled nothing – wins over teams seeded 16 th rarely draw bona fide conclusions. Iowa presented a real challenge, whether the orchestrator of seeds believed such or not. They had bodies that weren’t afraid to take on Florida much like Vanderbilt did, and despite putting their own foul situation in jeopardy, the Hawkeyes actually tested Florida’s front court depth. As such, Rueben Chinyelu became a non-factor with foul trouble and seemed ineffective most of the time on the floor. Through it all, though, the Gators managed to actually take a 4-point lead late in the game and was up by three with possession and just over a minute to play. With the chance to go up by five and virtually salt the game away, Boogie Fland lost control on a drive leading to a turnover. Thirteen seconds later, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz scored to take what could have been a comfortable situation for the Gators to a tight one. We all know what happened in the last nine seconds, and here is where playing Monday morning quarterback is easy as opposed to calling plays in the huddle. Was there anyone in the world who thought Iowa wasn’t gunning for an open 3-point attempt on their last possession? I know I was, and in that situation I was even comfortable giving up a contested 2 or even fouling to have one last chance and at least an overtime session where Florida would have clearly had the advantage. Instead, Florida left its side of the court with two defenders to cover three players while everyone else was pressuring up front. One might claim that if Fland did not get beat by his man then there never would have been an open 3-point attempt at the other end, but why risk that? Two, or even one player, can apply pressure on the ball so that Iowa is forced into at least something frenetic while everyone else is positioned. Why not pick them up near half court after two seconds have already elapsed and force something contested? Iowa had thrown over the Florida pressure the entire second half, and although it looked risky and nearly turned into turnovers, it never did. Those long passes over the press worked, and in the most critical time, Florida went to that same well again. And, again, Iowa threw over the press and this time found a man wide open for what was essentially a long free-throw attempt in terms of percentages. As you can tell, this loss is rather difficult to swallow – and if it is such for me, then the pain must be especially excruciating for Golden and his players. It’s hard to let it go and that is why we are analyzing this thing and questioning decisions, and deriding bad calls, and wondering “what if?” The sting hurts because this team, by the time March rolled around, looked to have blossomed into one that might win another championship. But championships are extremely difficult to win, especially in a tournament format where one false move and you’re gone. Todd Golden has been a dream come true for the Florida Gators and he will continue to win. Our most recent memory of things going south can lead us into a dark place, but we cannot let it. To play your way into a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after a 5-4 start is a remarkable feat and that is all credit to Golden and his staff. As good as Florida was, the odds were still against them winning it all this year, but once again they were more than just in the conversation – they had played themselves into the position as a favorite once again. The opportunities to be in that conversation do not come around too often. So, while I, like all other Gator fans, am despondent about what happened last Sunday and will find it difficult to watch the rest of this tournament, I take solace in knowing Gator basketball is in a good place. Golden is a great coach who recognizes talent where others don’t and is a master at putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Next year’s team will look different than those of the last two seasons, but there is still promise, still a chance to be in the conversation. Fland is returning, Urban Klavzar is returning, and we may get more of our frontcourt back than we figured a month ago. Now, we are dealing with teams like North Carolina and Kansas coming after Golden – we always knew this was in the cards. My hope is that Golden realizes he already resides in greener pastures – he can win championships in Gainesville just as he could in Lawrence or Chapel Hill. Lon Kruger led Florida to a Final Four and left not long after, realizing basketball to be a second-class citizen here to football. But this place has evolved since then – I know I feel it, and I hope Golden does too. We close the book on what has been an interesting and fun season despite the early exit from the tournament. Watching this team grow during the year was astounding and might have even built a confidence too great for its merit, but here we are. And where we are is not a mediocre team vying for respectability, but one that is still master of the best conference in the country and has three national championships to its brand. Today, we mourn. Tomorrow we build.

New Gator defensive coordinator Brad White says he and Jon Sumrall are "like brothers" (UAA Photo) That's what Brad White hopes to change. Immediately. And he’s always been a man of many changes.   The man who just spent the better part of a decade making Florida's offense miserable is now in charge of making sure nobody else does it   In recent seasons, Florida football has had more trouble making stops than Barney Fife attempting to issue speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Barney, at least, had one bullet in his shirt pocket. The Gator defense often looked like it didn't even have the gun.   How many times did we sit there in The Swamp — or worse, on somebody else's couch while watching on the road — and say to ourselves, "Just one more stop! Just get ‘one more stop’ and we win this thing." And how many times did the defense respond by allowing a 12-play drive that ended with some opponent's tight end dancing in the end zone like he'd just won a free cruise?   Too many. Way too many.   That 18-16 loss to South Florida? One stop. Georgia, 24-20? One stop. You could wallpaper the Heavener Football Training Center with the close calls that turned into close losses because the defense couldn't slam the door when it mattered.   A 4-8 season doesn't happen because of one play. It happens because of dozens of plays — the ones your defense doesn't make.   Brad White stays flexible That's what Brad White hopes to change. Immediately. And he’s always been a man of many changes.   "My dad was in the military, so I bounced around a lot," White told Scott Carter this week. "I was born in Massachusetts, did three years in Wyoming, three years in Germany, and then we settled in Rhode Island."   If you need proof that the man hasn't had time to exhale since Jon Sumrall handed him the keys to the Florida defense, all one has to do is glance around his sparse office inside the Heavener Football Training Center as Scott Carter did this week.   White hasn't had much time to make it feel like his home away from home. There's a photo of his wife and four kids hanging on the wall and not much else. He points to a notebook on his desk that holds a daily to-do list.   "There are so many things that you have to get done," he said.   No kidding.   The to-do list for fixing this defense could stretch from Gainesville to Lexington — which, by the way, is exactly where White just came from. And if you're a Florida fan wondering whether he's got the goods, consider this uncomfortable truth: Kentucky beat the Gators in five of the last eight meetings with White calling the defense. Including that 38-7 steamrolling last November that held Florida to 247 yards and essentially served as Billy Napier's final performance review.   In other words, the man who just spent the better part of a decade making Florida's offense miserable is now in charge of making sure nobody else does it, either. There's a certain poetic justice in that.   White doesn't care how many yards you give up. He's told you that. He'll tell you again. The man has one stat taped to his brain.   "I'm not a stats guy," he said. "There is only one stat that I care about. Well, two. Obviously, winning is the first. The true defensive stat comes down to scoring defense. If you told me we would give up 550 yards a game but hold teams to 12 points, I would absolutely take it."   That's a philosophy that worked awfully well in Lexington. Under White, Kentucky posted seven consecutive top-45 defenses nationally. His units ranked in the top 25 four different times. The Wildcats led the SEC in pass defense twice, forced 22 turnovers in 2020 to tie Alabama and LSU atop the conference, and in 2022 allowed just 311 yards per game — 11th in the entire country. For ‘Kentucky’. A program that, for most of its football history, was known primarily as a speed bump on the way to somebody else's SEC Championship.   If White could do that in Lexington, imagine what he might do with Florida's talent.   But here's the thing about fixing a defense: it's not just about scheme. It's about culture. It's about trust. And it's about getting 11 guys on the field who believe — truly believe — that the play they're about to run is going to work, and that the guy next to them is going to do his job.   That hasn't been the case in Gainesville for a while. Florida's defense since 2020 has been a carousel of coordinators, philosophies and identity crises.   Todd Grantham's aggressive approach gave up explosive plays like a busted fire hydrant. The numbers were ugly year after year — ranked 83rd, 96th, 107th in various efficiency metrics depending on which season you picked and which stat you preferred. Even in seasons where the success rate looked passable, the big plays bled through like water through a screen door.   White wants to stop the bleeding. His formula is straightforward, and he'll tell you exactly what it is without a shred of coach-speak:   "First and foremost, we want our guys to play fast. It's not about X's and O's. It's truly about getting them coached up, understanding where to put their eyes, and then letting them play fast. It's about development. It's about getting them confident in their abilities to go make plays."   Sound simple? It is. That's the point.   White's Kentucky defenses were built on a few unglamorous but devastatingly effective principles: limit big plays, win the turnover battle, get off the field on third down. In 2022, his Wildcats were third in the SEC in third-down defense. When he made that a point of emphasis, the first downs dried up, the drives stalled, and the scoring defense followed.   "We really focused on being a good third-down defense, and it paid dividends," White said. "If they don't convert on third, they're not getting first downs. It sort of works hand in hand. If they're off the field and don't have opportunities to extend drives, it's going to help your scoring defense."   Florida fans have been screaming that into the void for three years.   What strikes you about White — beyond the resume and the stats and the five wins against your team — is the way he carries himself. This is not a man who walked into the building pounding his chest and telling everyone he's here to save the program. He walked in with a notebook, a to-do list, and a willingness to learn.   He talked about studying the existing roster's terminology so he could adapt his playbook to what the players already know, rather than forcing them to start from scratch.   "Part of my job is finding ways that I can take terms that they've had in the past, and then I can learn," he said. "If I'm going to be 24/7 football, then I should be the one who can do some rogue learning and change what I've done terminology-wise to fit what might be an easier transition for them."   That's a grown man talking. That's a coach who understands that the fastest way to lose a locker room is to walk in acting like nothing that came before you matters. White's military-kid background — the bouncing around, the constant adapting, the learning to read a new room in a hurry — may be the most underrated part of his coaching DNA.   He and Sumrall go back to their Kentucky days together, 2019 through 2021, when both were on Mark Stoops' staff. Sumrall coached inside linebackers — a position White calls "the quarterback of the defense" — and the two hit it off instantly. Their families became intertwined. Their kids are the same age. Their wives became friends.   "He's like a brother to me," White said.   When Sumrall called after being named Florida's head coach, White didn't hesitate.   "First and foremost, just knowing who I would be working for. So much in this business is about being in a place where you know there's alignment. Everywhere that Coach has been, he's a winner. And he makes it enjoyable to be around."   That alignment matters more than people realize. One of the chronic problems at Florida over the last several coaching regimes has been a disconnect between the head coach's vision and the defensive coordinator's execution.   Dan Mullen inherited a Todd Grantham defense that often seemed to be playing a different sport. Napier cycled through coordinators trying to find a fit. The defense never had a settled identity, and the players knew it.   White and Sumrall already speak the same language. They run the same 3-4 base scheme. They share the same values about toughness, discipline, and player development. For the first time in a long while, the head coach and the defensive coordinator aren't just coexisting — they're aligned.   Now. Can he actually do it?   Can Brad White walk into a program that went 4-8, lost eight of its last ten, and hasn't fielded a top-25 defense since 2021, and turn it around?   The honest answer is: probably, but maybe not overnight. The encouraging answer is that White has done it before — at a place with fewer resources, less talent, and a fraction of the recruiting pull that Florida offers.   He took a Kentucky program that had been a defensive afterthought and turned it into one of the most respected units in the SEC. He developed NFL draft picks. He built a culture where players stayed, improved, and played with an edge. And he did it not by reinventing football but by coaching the fundamentals so well that his players stopped thinking and started playing.   That's what Florida needs more than anything right now. Not a miracle. Not some exotic blitz package downloaded from a video game. Just sound, disciplined, hard-nosed football. Get off the field on third down. Don't give up the big play. Force a turnover when the game hangs in the balance.   And for the love of all that is orange and blue — make the stop.   If there's a man in America equipped to fix what's been broken on that side of the ball in Gainesville, Brad White's resume says he's the guy. He's done the NFL thing. He's done the SEC thing. He's beaten the Gators enough times to know where the cracks are.   Now he's on the other side of the ball, staring at a notebook full of things to do and a defense full of things to fix.   The good news? The man's been adapting his whole life.   From Massachusetts to Wyoming to Germany to Rhode Island. From Wake Forest to the Colts to Lexington. And now to Gainesville, where the to-do list is long, the expectations are enormous, and the fans are tired of saying, "If only we'd gotten one more stop."   Brad White heard them. He's heard that phrase from the other sideline for eight years.   Now it's his turn to make sure it stops.

Todd says goodbye to these two stars. But guess who's coming back? (UAA Photo) They didn’t quite pull off the double-double natty dream, but don’t let that blur the picture. This was a special group.     They will be remembered — not for what they didn’t get, but for how close they came to grabbing hold of something that borders on basketball immortality.   Todd Golden’s 2025-26 Florida Gators gave us a season to savor, a ride that felt like it might never end.   It was a team stitched together by belief, toughness and just enough swagger to make Gator Nation lean forward in its seat and whisper, “Why not us?” As it had been the year before. And for a while there, it looked like it just might be again.   They didn’t quite pull off the double-double natty dream, but don’t let that blur the picture. This was a special group. The kind that bonds through long nights, tough wins and the shared understanding that they were building something bigger than themselves.   Years from now, they’ll still be talking about this run — the bus rides, the locker room speeches, the moments when they knew they had something. You can’t ever take that away from them.   Still, it’s only natural to wonder about the “what ifs.” In those final ticks against Iowa, you couldn’t help but think about the missing piece — the one who took his talents to Kentucky. Maybe one extra play, one extra body, one extra option changes everything.   But that’s not a knock on the ones who stayed and fought. Not even close. This team earned its place in Florida lore the hard way, stacking wins and proving they were a #1 seed despite five early losses.   You could tell they were stunned when the game against Iowa ended everything so abruptly. And in their hearts, they felt this was rightfully theirs and they were on a mission to win it again. When they did not, it was a shock to their system.   Now comes the part that defines programs, not just seasons. What’s next?   Well, Todd Golden is next, on lockdown, if you believe Scott Stricklin, who dismisses the rumors about UNC and Kansas.   “Todd wants to be at the University of Florida. I wish all those programs really good luck,” Stricklin said. “Todd’s going be here for a long time.” Golden has shown he can build. He’s shown he can develop. And maybe most importantly, he’s shown he can get a team to believe it belongs on the biggest stage.   The other good news came Thursday when Boogie Fland announced he was returning. Goods news for the Gators, but good news because he should not be scapegoated as the result of the last play after he so brilliantly defended the Hawkeyes’ best player,  Bennett Stirt, the rest of the night.   I know what you’re thinking: That Boogie’s decision could prompt others to do the same. And it could. In fact more good news came rolling in at deadline: Guard Urban Klavzar will return for the 2026-27 season.   These things need to keep coming around. Otherwise we’re staring at a roster that could tilt in two very different directions.   If Micah Handlogten gets his waiver and returns to anchor the interior… if Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu hear their names whispered more in second-round projections than first and decide another year in orange and blue is the better play… then watch out. That’s not a rebuild. That’s a reload.   That’s a team with unfinished business. That’s a team that could kick the door down next March. But if those pieces move on — as players often do in this modern era — then Golden faces a different kind of challenge. Not a step back, necessarily, but a step into the unknown.   New faces. New chemistry. A new identity to be forged from the portal and the practice floor.   And maybe that’s okay, too.   Because what this past season proved is that Florida basketball is no longer searching for relevance — it’s living in it. The standard has been reset. The expectations have changed.   The Gators aren’t hoping to compete anymore. They’re expected to.   And whether it’s with returning stars chasing one more shot or a fresh cast writing its own story, the foundation is there. Strong. Steady. Built by a team that came close enough to greatness to taste it — and left the door open for the next group to walk through.   That’s how legacies are built. And in Gainesville, the climb feels far from over.   Especially after such good news about Boogie.

I know this is a website dedicated to Florida Gators sports, but I hope you will indulge me for going off topic. This, you see, is my first Christmas in 74 years without the presence of my mother, Carleta Van Sickle Underwood. She passed away 17 days ago after a rather productive run in this thing we call life. She made it 97 years and 11 days before she drew her last breath at 4:02 p.m. on December 8. My sister Donna, my brother Gregory and I were at her bedside when her soul entered the gates of heaven leaving a shell of a body behind.   Our loss, heaven’s gain. I’ve heard that at least 500 times in the last 17 days. No matter how I know that’s the truth, it doesn’t change the fact that there is a void. I don’t know how long it will be before it’s not there. For all I know, it may never depart.   I know that where she is now there is no more of the pain she endured the last 30 years of her life. Her tolerance for pain was almost legendary. Just ask the nurses that forgot to numb her back before plunging in biopsy needles in 1998. They were in tears when they realized they had forgotten yet at the same time astonished that she didn’t even flinch. A day later the tumors that showed up on an MRI 48 hours prior weren’t there. The doctors were amazed. My mom said, “See, I told you I didn’t have cancer.” They asked how she knew, she replied, “Because my family, friends and prayer group were on it.”   She was like that, a woman of immense faith that never wavered. The more difficult the circumstance, the stronger her faith grew. Adversity was almost like some high powered growth hormone for her faith.   Now, she was emotional when adversity struck. I was convinced from the time I was four or five years old that she could shed tears on demand. For years I also thought she was a sucker for every sad story on the planet, but as I matured I learned that if you were breathing then you were worth a healthy dose of her compassion, care and teardrops. One of her “children by choice” – a student from Honduras named Juan Carlos – said there was healing in her tears. The two of them cried through some very difficult times. When Juan Carlos passed away in Honduras in the aftermath of a hurricane that caused massive flooding when it made landfall, my mom’s heart was broken. The mere mention of Juan Carlos brought tears, a trickle at first, an overflowing river to follow. If she loved you, she never stopped loving you.   She loved Juan Carlos, Jose, Rafael, Hector, Koktow, Virginia, Soo Young and all those kids and young people who she mothered and mentored for the years she and my stepfather, the late Dom Underwood, ran a ministry for international students and immigrants. For nearly 25 years at First Baptist Church in Gainesville and then at Westside Baptist Church they did their best to personify Matthew 25:35 that reads “… I was a stranger and you took me in.” In their presence no one was a stranger and no one was without the need of a hug and some love.   In 1986 when I was teaching at Han Nam University in Taejon, Korea, I came across a young man who got so excited when he found out I was from Gainesville. “I’m going to school there,” he told me. I congratulated him on making such a good decision to do grad school at the University of Florida. He told me about some of the other schools where he had applied and been accepted, so I asked what was the deciding factor that led him to choose Florida.   “There is this lady there in Gainesville,” he told me. “She helps you learn all about Gainesville, takes you to get a driver’s license and invites you into her home to eat and speak English conversations. She is famous! Do you know her?”   I grinned and told him that’s my mom, her name is Carleta.   “Yes! Carleta! That’s her!” he replied. “All the Koreans in Gainesville know her and love her.” Yes, Koreans and those from about 50 other countries who came to know her.   When my mom was growing up at 313 NW 11 th Street, just three blocks from the University of Florida campus, her dream was to become a foreign missionary but the combination of World War II, marriage to my dad Francis Beard, two kids and a very successful career as an insurance agent for Independent Life, Mutual and United of Omaha, and Jefferson Standard caused her to detour. Then came the invitation from Jerry Hayner for her and Dom to begin an international ministry at First Baptist Church.   She did her Moses impersonation. “I can’t speak Spanish! I don’t have the background! I don’t have the right education!” And on and on. Jerry listened and said, “Yep, and that’s why you’ll be perfect for the job.” He knew how Carleta attacked a new task. He knew that she would rely on her faith and let God take care of the minor little details.   Minor little details. Five back surgeries. A knee replacement and another knee that needed replacing but doctors refused to due to her age and other health complications. A double mastectomy. A spiral fracture in her leg that required serious surgery and rehab. They sent her home two weeks ahead of schedule at rehab because she had surpassed the goals and expectations.   She was legally blind due to glaucoma and macular degeneration in both eyes, but even when she couldn’t see, she saw more than most. She could read a heart and that was all the sight she needed.   In her life it was God first, family second and that included all the family she adopted through the years, and the Florida Gators a very strong third place. She loved the Florida Gators. Her favorite Gators were in this order: Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow, Billy Donovan, Urban Meyer and Todd Golden.   She was in the hospital at ORMC in Orlando in November of 2005. During surgery her spinal cord was nicked. For three weeks she hovered near death. A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Urban Meyer whacked me on the butt with his Gatorade bottle as was his habit after practice or press conferences. He asked about my mom and then asked if there is anything he could do. I told him how much she adored him and then asked a monumental favor.   “I know you’re busy with the Florida State game, but would you call her and wish her to get well?” I asked. “Her birthday is Sunday (November 27).”   “Consider it done,” Urban replied. “Thanksgiving morning okay?”   Absolutely. Thanksgiving morning Urban and Shelley Meyer called. They talked for 20 minutes. At the conclusion of the conversation, Urban said, “I hear you have a birthday coming up on Sunday. What would you like for a birthday present?”   My mom replied, “Well, you could beat the Seminoles.”   Saturday evening at the conclusion of the post game press conference after the Gators had whomped FSU, 34-7, Urban walked by, whacked me on the butt with his Gatorade bottle and grinned, “You think she liked that?”   She loved it and loved the 2006 and 2008 national championships in football, the back-to-back basketball championships, the softball, gymnastics, baseball, golf and track and field championships. When the Gators lost, she was disappointed for maybe a few hours, then the perpetual, undying optimism kicked in. Carleta was one Gator who never lost the faith.   In the last few years of her life when she could no longer see the Florida games on the television, I was her eyes. When I got home from games at The Swamp or the O-Dome, she expected me to give her the lowdown. She was like the Wide World of Sports signature line, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” A Gator win was a thrill. Defeat was agony, a total heartbreak.   I think most UF fans were convinced they might never see another NCAA basketball championship, but when I got home after the Gators poleaxed then No. 1 Tennessee, 73-43, she was wide awake and waiting. She had listened to the entire game with my sister filling in details.   “I love Todd Golden,” she told me as I gave her my version of the game. “I think this team is going to win the national championship.”   She was prophetic. January became February and then came March. The Gator Boyz got hot. Very hot. As I traveled to each venue of the NCAA Tournament, I called after every game to give her the personal report she expected. After the UConn, Texas Tech, Auburn and Houston come from behind wins, she told me she knew the Gators would find a way to win.   “That Todd Golden knows how to coach,” she declared more than one time. “He’s another Dean Smith. I never doubted the Gators would win those games.”   After the NCAA championship, I set out on writing my book, “The Golden Season.” I did it with constant encouragement from my mother. When we got the first copies from the publisher, she held the book to her cheek and then kissed it. She was proud of me. She was proud of Todd. She was proud of her Gators.   A month later and she was gone.   On the Saturday morning (December 6) before she passed away, I was up at 6 a.m. and by her bedside. She wanted to sit on the sofa, but that was impossible, so I volunteered to sit on the bed and lean over so she could hug me. For the next 30 minutes we talked as she hugged me tighter than ever before. It was our last lucid conversation during which we talked about the Duke game again. She was convinced the zebras stole that one from the Gators. She wanted to know what I thought about Jon Sumrall. She made me promise I would go to New York for the UConn game on Tuesday.   We talked about family and faith matters until she got tired and started to fade. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.   “You’re going to be all right,” she said and told me one more time how much she loved me. This was our last conversation. Later in the day she slipped into semi-consciousness and by Sunday she only occasionally opened her eyes.   On Monday morning, just hours before she passed, one of her favorite hymns was playing. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t sing and wasn’t conscious but her lips mouthed the words to “It Is Well With My Soul.”   At 4:02 p.m. a very well soul passed from this life on earth to a heaven where she knew she was going long before she took her last breath.   So, here it is at 1:19 on Christmas morning. It is so quiet in this Lake County condo that I call home, the place she spent the last 11-plus months of her life. For the past couple of weeks I have been waking up at 6 a.m., staggering out of bed and walking over to where her bed was only to realize that she’s not here anymore. Not here physically, at least. In my heart and the hearts of all those who knew her, she’s still very much a strong presence and will always be.   I look back on that last conversation I had with my mother and it compels me to ask a favor of those of you who read this. Take the time to tell the people you care about that you love them. If forgiveness is needed, then be bold enough to make the first step. I could not live with myself if my mother had gone to her grave with unreconciled differences with me.   If at all possible, do it today. Life is short and we never know when our time is up. Don’t go another day if you can help it without the effort to bridge old problems and give a relationship a fresh start. Merry Christmas, Franz