After a regular season that ended with Florida winning its first SEC title since 2014, the Gators’ success was reflected in the conference's season awards.
On Monday, the SEC announced its end-of-season awards. Florida was well represented with five members earning eight different honors, including Todd Golden who won SEC Coach of the Year.
Here is a recap of the Gators who received all-conference honors.
Todd Golden: SEC Coach of the Year
In his fourth year at the helm of Florida basketball, Golden led the Gators to a 25-6 record, including a 16-2 mark in conference play. That earned him SEC Coach of the Year honors for the first time. He also became the fourth Gator head coach to earn the award.
The Gators finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak, including a 108-74 victory against Mississippi State on Tuesday, marking Golden’s 100th with Florida. He became the fastest coach to do so, surpassing Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Billy Donovan.
“It’s more of a reflection of the guys that we have in our program and the job our staff has done over the first four years,” Golden said post-game Tuesday. “I’m proud of the organization that we have. What we’re doing and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
When Florida defeated then-No. 10 Vanderbilt 98-94 on Jan. 17, Golden improved his record to 4-6 against top-10 ranked opponents. Outside of Golden’s four seasons at Florida, the Gators are 5-62 in such games.
With 101 wins at Florida, Golden has also set a program record for most by a coach through their first four seasons at UF.
Rueben Chinyelu: SEC Defensive Player of the Year, All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Defensive Team and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Rueben Chinyelu returned to Florida for his third season after briefly testing the NBA pre-Draft process, and the decision paid dividends, as he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named All-SEC Second Team and to the SEC All-Defensive Team.
“We felt like he was capable of making a jump like this, this year,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said on Friday. “He’s one of the most valuable guys out there with the way he makes teams pay on both sides of the floor.”
The Nigerian finished the regular season second in the nation with a 31.0 defensive rating on Bart Torvik. He also finished third with a 5.34 Defensive Bayesian Performance rating, which reflects the value a player brings on defense when they’re on the court.
Moreover, on Feb. 27, he was one of 15 players nationwide named to the Naismith Men's College Defensive Player of the Year Late-Season Team. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Field of 68 on Monday.
Overall, Chinyelu’s 2025-26 season was filled with dominance on the court and in the record books. He finished the regular season averaging 11.4 points and a team-leading 11.7 rebounds, putting him in position to be the first Gator since Bob Smyth (1975-76) to average double-figure rebounds.
In Tuesday's game against Mississippi State, Chinyelu recorded 11 points and 16 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season, tying a program single-season record set by Smyth during the 1975-76 season.
Against Texas Feb. 25, the junior center set a program single-season record for offensive rebounds, surpassing Dwayne Davis’ 114 during the 1988-89 campaign. Chinyelu ended the regular season with 130 offensive boards.
Against Merrimack on Nov. 21, Chinyelu recorded 21 rebounds in addition to 14 points, setting a program record during the shot-clock era. He then matched that total in UF’s 79-61 win over LSU on Jan. 20.
On Jan. 19, he was named SEC Player of the Week after recording back-to-back double-doubles against Oklahoma on Jan. 13 and Vanderbilt on Jan. 17. Against the Commodores, he logged a career-high 20 points to accompany his 10 rebounds.
Chinyelu also earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the second player in SEC history to win SEC Defensive Player of the Year and receive that award. The first was former Gator Patric Young, who did so in 2014.
Chinyelu is expected to declare for the 2026 NBA Draft, with Bleacher Report's latest projection placing him at the 10th pick in the second round.
Urban Klavžar: SEC Sixth-Man of the Year
Klavžar received his first SEC honors on Monday after being named Sixth-Man of the Year. He also became the fourth Gator to earn the honor and is the first to do so since Canyon Barry in 2017.
"Hard to argue what guard has been better off the bench in SEC play,” Golden said on Feb. 24. “That guy has turned into a really good player and one that we're really happy to have in our program."
A junior guard from Slovenia, Klavžar was the leader of Florida’s bench, finishing the regular season averaging 9.9 points per game.
His best scoring effort of the season came in Florida's 84-80 loss against Texas Christian in the Rady Children’s Invitational on Nov. 27 in San Diego, California. He logged 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, going 4 for 7 from beyond the arc.
From Jan. 6 to Feb. 7, he recorded double-digit points in eight of the nine games during this span. On Feb. 14 against Kentucky, he logged his highest scoring effort of conference play with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers.
Moreover, Klavžar enters the SEC tournament having made at least one 3-pointer in 21 straight games. Overall, he finished the regular season leading Florida's rotation with a 40.6% clip from beyond the arc.
Thomas Haugh: All-SEC First Team
After receiving 2025 NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team honors in Florida’s national championship run last season, Thomas Haugh went from the sixth man to the team’s leading scorer the following season.
The junior forward received All-SEC First Team honors after pacing Florida with 17.2 points per game on 47.1% shooting from the field. He also recorded at least one 3-pointer in all but two games for the Gators this season, finishing the campaign with a 34.4% clip from beyond the arc.
On Nov. 17, he was named SEC Player of the Week, becoming the first of four Gators this season to receive this recognition. During that week, he recorded a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double against Florida State on Nov. 11, followed by a 17-point, nine-rebound performance against Miami on Nov. 16 in the GEICO Jacksonville Hoops Showdown.
In Florida’s season opener against Arizona on Nov. 3, Haugh recorded 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting despite the Gators falling short 93-87. He then matched that scoring output with 27 points and 10 rebounds against Auburn on Jan. 24.
Also, in UF’s season finale against Kentucky on Saturday, Haugh led UF with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds.
“He got off to a great start,” Golden said after the Kentucky game. “He just did a great job picking his spots when he was at the 3.”
Overall, he recorded 20 or more points in 13 games this season, nine of which came during conference play.
Many analysts consider Haugh to be a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Alex Condon: All-SEC Third Team
Alex Condon entered his junior season as a preseason AP All-American, the first Gator to receive this recognition since Joakim Noah in 2006-07.
And while it took him some time to find his game, he did so right in time for Florida’s late-season push, finishing the season averaging 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. That earned Condon All-SEC Third Team honors.
The Aussie finished the season with eight-straight double-digit scoring performances, including four outings with 20 or more points.
One of his more dominant performances came earlier in the season against North Florida on Nov. 6. Condon finished Florida's home opener with 25 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
On Feb. 2, Condon was named Co-SEC Player of the Week after he logged 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists against then-No. 23 Alabama the day prior.
Condon, like Haugh and Chinyelu, is expected to be selected in this year’s NBA Draft, with Bleacher Report's most recent projection having him selected early in the second round.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
