Despite Florida winning the national championship to end a historic run at the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Urban Klavžar's season was far from a success.
Eligibility issues, inconsistent shooting and limited time on the floor characterized the Slovenian’s first year in Gainesville.
Fast forward a year, and Klavžar has made the jump from being scratched from the rotation to Florida head coach Todd Golden’s first option in the rotation. Now, he enters the postseason as the Southeastern Conference Sixth-Man of the Year, providing the Gators a spark off the bench.
"Last year, that was a big part of delaying his success, not knowing when he was going to be eligible, having to try to work him into the rotation after the season already started,” Golden said. “We thought he would make a big jump and he certainly has. Hard to argue what guard has been better off the bench in SEC play.”
On July 1, 2024, UF signed Klavžar, who at the time played professionally in Spain until 2021, making appearances for Real Madrid and Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto. During that summer, he made an appearance for the Slovenian National Team at the U20 European Championship, where he averaged 15.4 points per game on 41.9% shooting from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.
However, Klavžar would have to wait to join the Gators.
Before Klavžar’s move to Gainesville, the NCAA prevented players who had played professionally and received salaries overseas from competing in college athletics. Because he was on a salary when he played in Spain, it took Klavžar time to obtain his eligibility. About four months later, he was cleared by the NCAA and joined the Gators for their road contest against in-state rival FSU on Nov. 15, 2024.
However, Klavžar continued to face obstacles early in the 2024-25 season.
His time away from the team showed, as he missed 12 of his first 13 attempts from beyond the arc. Moreover, Florida’s depth limited Klavžar’s time on the floor, with Denzel Aberdeen, Thomas Haugh and Sam Alexis leading the way for the Gators' reserves.
But after guards Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr suffered injuries during conference play and Aberdeen took on the starting role, Klavžar had his opportunity.
In Florida's upset win at No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 8, 2025, he made all three of his 3-pointers, including two in the span of 13 seconds. Then, against Oklahoma on Feb. 18, he recorded his sole double-digit scoring effort of the season with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
However, once Martin and Clayton returned, and Aberdeen was back on the bench, Klavžar’s time on the court was limited once again. Furthermore, when Micah Handlogten decided to forgo his redshirt on Feb. 14, 2025, another experienced player was added to Golden’s bench, leading to less time on the court for Klavžar.
Klavžar would finish the season failing to get more than 15 minutes on the court in a single game. In the NCAA Tournament, he was scratched from the rotation after the Sweet 16 because of his smaller stature at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. In the two tournament games prior, he had a total of four minutes of action.
After learning from a distance during UF’s national championship run, the 2025-26 season provided Klavžar an opportunity to prove his worth and be free of disturbances. For the first time, he spent the entire summer with the team for practices and worked on his physicality.
“I got a lot of pounds up, and I'm trying to get better defensively," he said on Oct. 7. "I know how physical our conference is, especially the guards are really physical and fast, so you got to be ready."
His efforts paid dividends as Klavžar provided a consistent spark off the bench for the Gators.
During non-conference play, he had three games with 15 or more points during a four-game span between Nov. 16 and Nov. 28. Against Texas Christian on Nov. 27 at the Rady Children’s Invitation in San Diego, California, Klavžar logged his career-high of 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
“He’s really getting comfortable, becoming a really good player,” Golden said after Klavžar’s 18-point performance against Providence on Nov. 28. “He’s making really good plays. He’s coming into his own, and he’s getting comfortable.”
In conference play, Klavžar recorded double-digits in 12 of his 18 appearances, including eight double-digit scoring games in nine games spanning from Jan. 6 to Feb. 7.
Then, in a primetime matchup against Kentucky on Feb. 14, where SEC standings were on the line, Klavžar delivered for Florida. The Slovenian finished the contest with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a career-high five 3-pointers.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” he said after the game. “Especially when that first shot goes in. You just get a boost in confidence by just shooting it, which leads to more makes.”
He finished the regular season averaging 9.9 points per game on 40.6% shooting from 3-point range. He also enters the SEC Tournament, making at least one 3-pointer in 21 consecutive games.
“He’s one of the biggest X-factors in the country,” Haugh said. “He’s a fricking bucket.”
Klavžar’s improvement from last year was recognized on Monday as he was named SEC Sixth-Man of the Year, becoming the first Gator to receive this honor since Canyon Barry in 2017.
With Florida set to compete in the SEC Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, Klavžar looks to continue his success off the bench, providing a spark for the Gators.
“The most important games of the season are coming up,” he said. “It’s cool but doesn’t really matter a lot if we don’t perform in these next games, because if you play one bad game, you’re out.”
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
