NCAA Basketball: 20 early team winners of 2023 transfer portal offseason

3. Florida Gators

A year ago, new head coach Todd Golden was viewed as a winner in the transfer portal. Yet some of those additions didn’t ultimately work out. This time around, he may have done even better. The Gators have already landed four transfers, including three in the frontcourt.

The lone guard so far is Walter Clayton Jr., who was the MAAC Player of the Year this past season. He averaged 16.8 ppg and 3.2 apg at Iona, shooting 43% from three-point range and having a 30-point game against Niagara. The fact that Florida was able to keep him from staying with Rick Pitino at St. John’s was one of the bigger recruiting wins this offseason.

in the frontcourt, the Gators landed 7’1 center, Micah Handlogten. As a freshman, he averaged 7.6 ppg and 9.8 rpg and was an elite interior defender at Marshall. EJ Jarvis is a 6’8 forward transfer from Yale, coming off 11.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg as a junior. And Tyrese Samuel is a 6’10 big man that was a double-digit scorer at Seton Hall and can play both frontcourt positions.

The Gators look to be more balanced compared to relying on Colin Castleton this past season but will need these mostly mid-major transfers to improve. But they’ve done very well with their targets and still have room for a guard or two going forward.