Walter Clayton Jr. named SEC Male Athlete of the Year

Walter Clayton Jr. has been named the 2025 Southeastern Conference’s Roy F. Kramer Male Athlete of the Year, the SEC announced on Wednesday. Clayton Jr. is the 14th different Gator honored with this award and the first in men’s basketball.

Clayton is UF’s sixth male athlete honored, joining Danny Wuerffel (1995, ’96), Ryan Lochte (2005), Tim Tebow (2007, ’08), Caeleb Dressel (2018) and Grant Holloway (2019). This also marks the third straight year that Florida has had an honoree with Parker Valby (2024) and Trinity Thomas (2023) taking home Female Athlete of the Year recognition. Florida leads the SEC all-time with eight male and nine female Athlete of the Year honors.

Florida’s SEC Athletes of the Year

Clayton Jr. led the Gators to a 2025 National Championship, earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player recognition and consensus first-team All-America honors for the first time in program history. Clayton Jr. also earned NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player, SEC Tournament MVP, and First-Team All-SEC.

The Lake Wales native averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game throughout across 40 games played in 2025. Clayton Jr.’s 713 total points set Florida’s single-season record.

Known for his clutch shooting and limitless range, the 6’3, 195 point guard put together one of the most historic NCAA Tournament runs in college basketball history, recording a career-high 34 points in the Final Four vs. Auburn and 30 in the Elite Eight victory vs. Texas Tech, becoming the first player since Larry Bird to post 30+ points in back-to-back games in the regional final or later.

Clayton Jr. was later drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 18th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.