Even though its national championship is just over a week old, Todd Golden and Florida basketball are hard at work building a roster that can repeat and cut down the nets again next season.
Of course, that will be easier said than done. The Gators are losing all three of their standouts in the backcourt as Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin all depart from the program. On Wednesday, Florida landed one of the biggest names in the transfer portal to help fill the void.
Former Princeton star Xaivian Lee has officially committed to Florida, he announced on his Instagram.
Lee was one of the top available players and is a big get for Florida. St. John's was also in the mix for the versatile point guard, so this will feel like a massive recruiting victory for Golden and his staff.
Related Florida Basketball NewsArticle continues below
After Clayton rose to stardom as the point guard for the Gators over the lat two seasons, Lee will now step in and replace him. He's a different type of player, but the production speaks for itself. Lee averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for the Tigers last season and was named First Team All-Ivy League.
Lee is listed at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, but he plays much bigger than that and should give Florida excellent positional size in the backcourt.
The Toronto native came up big down the stretch of the season when Princeton needed him to as it pushed for a conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth. During the final few weeks of the season, Lee saw his minutes load increase and scored 20 or more points in four of his last six games.
Lee will pair nicely in the backcourt with Denzel Aberdeen as well as incoming four-star freshman Alex Lloyd. Florida is still waiting on the decisions from Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon in the front court, but Golden is already building out a very talented roster to make another run at the title in 2026.
