Florida Trending for No. 22 College Basketball Recruit

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Jul 4, 2025 - 04:30

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The Florida Gators are coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history, leading to their third national championship. However, head coach Todd Golden is not taking his foot off the gas.

With a reloaded roster for the 2025-26 season already in place, Golden and the Gators are looking to add even more for the future. This could begin with a top-30 recruit in the country for the 2026 class.

Cole Cloer, the No. 22 overall player, No. 9 small forward and highest-rated recruit in North Carolina, per the 2026 ESPN 100, announced through Rivals' Joe Tipton on Thursday that Florida is in his final eight schools.

NEWS: 2026 Top-30 overall recruit Cole Cloer is down to eight schools, he tells @Rivals.

The 6-8 rising senior is one of the top wings in the country.https://t.co/9z2l7QrnhQ pic.twitter.com/8KkaL7joaZ— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) July 3, 2025

Outside of UF in his top eight, Cloer named blue-blood programs like North Carolina and UConn, and Florida's SEC rival, Alabama.

The Greensboro, North Carolina, native has averaged 20.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, over one steal and one block per game in 81 appearances through his first three years at Caldwell Academy. Cloer shot 51% from the field and 41% from 3-point range in his junior year last season.

“I mean, they’re the defending national champions," Cloer said of the Gators in an interview with On3's Jamie Shaw. "They were the best team in the country. I love Coach Golden. He is a great coach, a young coach, a player’s coach. It’s also an NBA play style; they put out pros. I feel like coach trusts his guys, which says a lot. Also, with the way they respect him.”

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden after winning the national championship.Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

It is obvious from his comments that Cloer is very high on the Gators, who officially offered the forward on June 11. The four-star wing is scheduled to take an official visit to Gainesville on Sept. 6.

While Florida doesn't have any commits for the 2026 class yet, and Cloer is unlikely to pledge anytime soon, it will be interesting to see where the highly rated recruit ends up.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.