Florida men’s basketball senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. earned First Team All-American honors for his 2024/25 season, as announced on Tuesday by the Associated Press. Clayton Jr. is Florida’s first AP All-American selection since 2014, where Scottie Wilbekin earned third-team honors. The Gator point guard was previously named a First Team All-American by Sporting News, which marked the first time in Florida basketball program history that any player was named to a national first team from any publication.
“We know he’s first team All-American, first one in Florida history, which is crazy. Just playing at an insanely high level,” head coach Todd Golden said on Clayton Jr. “I just hope people just understand how gifted and talented he is and how much of a winner he is.”
Clayton Jr. is averaging a team high 17.5 points per game while shooting 44.4% from the floor including 37.7% from three-point range, both SEC career highs for the Lake Wales, Florida native. Clayton Jr. has scored double figures in 29 of his 33 appearances this season, including the last 18 in a row, and has scored 18 points in nine of the last 12 games. He has 11 games with 20 or more points, including 22 points in both the SEC Tournament semifinal win vs. No. 5 Alabama and the championship game win vs. No. 8 Tennessee.
During the last five games, three of which were against teams ranked inside the top 10, Clayton Jr. averaged 21.4 points per game and combined for 20 three pointers made, an average of four per game on 44.4% shooting from deep.
“Talk about playing with confidence, you know, he’s out there just letting it rip. He just is so good with the ball in his hands and makes great decisions,” Golden said on Clayton Jr.’s recent stretch of play.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Clayton Jr.’s 2024/25 campaign was his ability to guide Florida to a 30-4 record, an SEC Championship, and a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“Winning matters,” Golden said on Clayton. “We’ve been able to add some program changers, and I’d put Walt right at the top of that list. Getting him to come home, come back and play for the Gators was obviously a huge, huge addition to our program and he’s just been an elite player since he’s been here.”
Associated Press All-America Teams
First Team
*Cooper Flagg, Duke
Johni Broome, Auburn
Braden Smith, Purdue
Mark Sears, Alabama
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
*-unanimous selection
Second Team
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Kam Jones, Marquette
John Tonje, Wisconsin
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s
Third Team
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Eric Dixon, Villanova
LJ Cryer, Houston
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas