The reigning national champion Florida Gators dramatically bolstered their chances of going back-to-back by adding transfer guard Boogie Fland from Arkansas on Tuesday.
The 6’2 Fland had been going through the NBA Draft process before announcing last week that he would be returning to college for his sophomore season. He will reportedly be paid more than $2 million to play for the Todd Golden’s team in 2025-26.
A former 5-star recruit, Fland’s freshman season at Arkansas was off to a terrific start before he suffered an Ulnar Collateral Ligament injury on his right thumb during a game against Florida on Jan. 11. After initially attempting to play through the injury, Fland had surgery on his hand 11 days later. He didn’t return to the court until the NCAA Tournament, which saw the 10th-seeded Razorbacks make a surprise run to the Sweet 16.
Before suffering the injury, Fland was averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. He came off the bench in all three March Madness contests, scoring just 12 total points and handing out five assists.
In Gainesville, Fland will join forces with Princteton transfer Xaivian Lee to form one of the most interesting and potentially exciting backcourts in college basketball for 2025-26. The duo will look to replicate the magic that the backcourt of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard were able to create last season in leading Florida to its first national championship since 2007.
While nearly all of UF’s backcourt production from last season is gone, its frontcourt should remain largely in tact. Thomas Haugh (9.8 ppg/6.1 rpg) is back, as is Rueben Chinyelu (6.0 ppg/6.6 rpg), who recently pulled his name out of the NBA Draft. If starting big Alex Condon (10.6 ppg/7.5 rpg) follow’s Chinyelu’s lead and returns to Gainesville for one more run, the Gators would seem like a near lock to be a preseason top 10 squad.
The combination of Fland and Lee, a two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection, should allow Florida to continue the up-tempo style of play that Golden’s teams have thrived in. Last year’s Florida team played at the 57th-fastest pace in all of Division-I, and finished the season ranked second in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Fland had previously checked in at No. 5 on SB Nation’s list of the 10 best available players in the transfer portal.
