By JAMES MADDEN
Todd Golden and the Florida Gators are two seasons removed from winning the national title, having earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years.
The Gators’ 2026 run, however, was cut incredibly short when they fell at the hands of No. 9 Iowa in the Round of 32 in Tampa this past March.
Golden, who’s returning most of his scoring output from the past two seasons, will have a lot of eyes locked on his squad throughout the season, with many coaches tabbing his Gators as the best team in the country.
In a poll conducted by CBSSports’ Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish, the two asked college coaches around the country about their personal pick to be the preseason No. 1 overall team.
As the results of the poll came in, Golden’s Gators were the consensus top team headed into the 2026-27 season, to no surprise.
“I think there’s no excuse for Florida to not sit at No. 1 most of the year.,” said one coach to CBSSports. “80% of scoring back with three true frontcourt monsters that probably eclipse most teams’ total salaries by themselves.”
All members of last year’s top-four seeded team, Florida is set to return Thomas Haugh (who’s in the running as a potential Naismith Player of the Year candidate), Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Boogie Fland.
Notably, Denzel Aberdeen, who came off the bench for the national championship team in 2025 before transferring to Kentucky announced his return to the program, but a recent ruling in Colorado deemed the Orlando native ineligible.
“Just so much coming back, adding Aberdeen (if cleared) is a missing piece at guard they needed last year that already knows the system,” said a coach. “Massive upgrade over (Xaivian) Lee. I do think they will have to deal with unreasonable expectations and we will see if there’s a such thing as a group staying together for too long?”
With the Gators key returners owning headlines throughout the offseason, an underrated part of Golden’s summer was retaining top assistant Carlin Hartman, who had been linked to coaching vacancies around the country.
Hartman, who’s played a vital role in Golden’s success in Gainesville, brings as much experience to the locker room as anyone.
“The combination of great returning players along with Todd Golden and Carlin Hartman at the helm is unmatched,” said another coach. “Aberdeen being somewhat cleared to play a fifth year is just icing on the cake. Really tough schedule obviously, but I could see them dropping only four games before SEC tournament starts in March.”
Golden is entering his fifth season in charge in Gainesville, with three of his first four resulting in NCAA Tournament appearances and one resulting in a national title.
The Gators will have a heavy burden on their shoulders headed into this season, but led by rising senior Thomas Haugh, they’ll look to live up to the pressure that comes with winning a national championship two seasons ago.
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