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Florida Receives Major Transfer Portal News After Winning NCAA Tournament Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 8:05 PM ET

The Florida Gators are still riding high after winning the program's third national title, but there is a new task at hand for the Gators.

With the transfer portal in full swing, Florida is tasked with replacing some key players who are departing for the NBA. While there is a possibility that Alex Condon could return, one player who is done for good is Walter Clayton Jr. The tournament's Most Outstanding Player has played his way from possibly being drafted, to a first-round lock.

So, in order to replace him, the Gators have been taking some major swings in the portal, and just connected on their first home run transfer this offseason. On3's Joe Tipton confirmed that the Gators landed Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee.

The 6-foot-4 junior averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting nearly 44% from the field and 36.6% from three.

The Gators were able to beat out St. John's and Kansas for his services and may have had some help from sophomore forward Thomas Haugh, who was pushing hard for Lee to end up in Gainesville. The two were high school teammates at Perkiomen School in Pennsylvania.

Although the Gators landed his commitment, Lee is expected to go through the NBA draft process. If he does end up a Gator, he fills a huge void left by Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard. Lee ranks as the No. 26 portal player and is Florida's first transfer.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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