Gators Basketball Ranked No. 3 in Preseason AP Poll

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team will open the 2025-26 season ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP poll. 

The No. 3 ranking is the highest the Gators have held in a preseason poll since the 2006-07 season, when they opened the year as the nation’s top ranked team. That was also coming off of a national championship, showing early parallels to Florida’s last back-to-back campaign.

The team is coming off of a season where they appeared in the Top 25 every week, Florida’s first time achieving this since the 2013-14 season. 

This marks the 22nd preseason poll that has featured Florida and the fourth in the last 10 seasons. Furthermore, the Gators appear in the Top 25 for the 22nd consecutive week, the ninth-longest streak currently active in Division I.

The Gators have spent 319 total weeks ranked in the AP poll, accounting for nearly 25% of all polls ever released by the AP. The team is 31st in all-time weeks in the rankings, boasting an average ranking of 11.5 across all appearances.

After cutting down the nets in April, it was a very busy offseason in Gainesville. The Gators are heading into 2025 with a new-look backcourt and familiar faces anchoring the front court. 

Last season’s success brings great teams onto the schedule as the Gators are slated to play the No. 4, No. 6, and No. 13 ranked teams in the nation in the non-conference slate alone. The SEC has six teams ranked in the poll, including the Gators.

The 2025-26 season will tip-off against No. 13 Arizona on November 3rd at the T-Mobile Arena for the 2025 Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas.

Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball