Fall means football season in Gainesville, but it also means the opportunity for the basketball program to bring some players into the rowdy atmosphere on visits and continue to recruit. The Gators are set to lose a lot of veteran talent after this season and could look to retool more through the high-school ranks then ever, so these are some names to know in the class of 2027.
Beckham Black
Black is the number one ranked player in the class of 2027 and is currently playing at Southeastern Prep in Orlando. He’s got excellent size, speed, and physicality for the point guard position, and wherever he goes will probably have to hand over the keys of the offense. It’s harder than ever to know who is serious about doing what’s required to get these top players, so it will be interesting to see how much the Gators are interested. He’ll be on a visit this weekend.
Cayden Daughtry
The number three ranked player in the class, Daughtry is another point guard though he profiles much differently than Black. Black is 6’3” and 180 pounds, whereas Daughtry is listed at 6’0” and 155. He’s as quick as a blink and gets around the court with remarkable speed, and larger defenders simply have no chance of keeping their feet in front of him. Because of the size he could be a multi-year college player which makes him even more enticing as a recruit. Daughtry just released his list of final 14 schools, yes, 14–so we’ll see where the Gators land in the mix. They were one of the last schools to get in on the recruitment as that’s the style Florida’s staff prefers.
Nasir Anderson
Continuing the different physical profiles of point guard targets we’ve got Nasir Anderson, a 6’3”, 215 pound chunk of granite that looks like a linebacker. Ranked 8th in the country and playing at Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Anderson is a college-ready body who can guard up and down the lineup, and the Gators may see him as an Alijah Martin type off guard who could fit into a number of positions. Florida is considered one of the favorites here, and if the staff doesn’t think they want to push all their chips in on the top two point guards, Anderson could be a better use of resources.
Jason Gardner
Gardner is a bit slight at 6’1”, 185 but he’s a bucket getter who the Gators see as the tough shot maker they could have used last season. Ohio State, Creighton, and Auburn are some of the others in the mix for this 67th ranked player in the nation.
Deng Ngor
Ngor recently scheduled a visit to the Gators and he’s a player the staff really likes. A wing with size, Ngor isn’t someone who needs the ball a ton and prefers catching and shooting, cutting, and playing in transition, and that makes him the perfect complimentary player next to the type of stars the Gators could acquire either through the high school ranks or the transfer portal. Ngor was a huge piece in Canada’s U18 team that upset the USA this summer which really elevated his recruiting profile.
Kamsi Awaka
It’s clear that the Gators always want to bring in young centers to develop through the system, as getting size in the portal is an expensive, challenging endeavour. This past season they went a little down the recruiting ranks to find a guy they liked in Jones Lay, and now they’re looking a bit higher with 6’10”, 250 pound Kamsi Awaka who is currently ranked 41st. Awaka fits the profile of an SEC center perfectly with wide shoulders, powerful legs, and long arms, and Florida has made him their priority frontcourt target so he’s one to watch out for. Arizona, Michigan State, Michigan, and UConn are also after Awaka for his services which says a lot about how he projects as a player.