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New Role, Higher Expectations for Florida Forward Thomas Haugh

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI | By Cam Parker | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 5:27 PM ET

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Thomas Haugh's heroics during the Florida Gators' run to a national championship last season did not go unnoticed, and as a result, head coach Todd Golden is relying on him even more this season.

With a void on the wing left by graduated guard Will Richard, Golden is turning to Haugh, a forward, to fill his role.

“My goal as a head coach is to get my best players on the court as much as we can. And Tommy is one of our best players," Golden said on Monday. "For us, with our strength in terms of who's returning being in the frontcourt, we wanted to think about different ways where we can get those guys on the court as much as possible."

Last year, Haugh emerged as a primary sixth man with occasional starts at the four in place of Alex Condon, who battled injuries throughout the season. He shined in the role, averaging 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 34 percent from 3-point range.

Despite primarily playing at the four behind Alex Condon, the plan was always for Haugh to be elevated into the starting lineup for this season. Golden first revealed the decision after last year's run in the NCAA Tournament.

"Right before the championship parade. But he just kind of went up to me and just said, 'Hey, if you're comfortable, I'm comfortable.' And I was like, 'Heck yeah,'" Haugh recalled. "And then obviously when I went on to my pre-draft stuff and got a little bit of feedback and stuff, teams in the next level kind of see me as that. Being like an outside wing and slasher cutter who knocks down shots."

Haugh has since spent the entire offseason prepping for the role.

"I think it's working out great, getting a lot more comfortable," Haugh said. "First practice is today (Monday), so we'll see how that goes. This summer went great for us. It was a good team summer. I was able to stay on the wing a little bit and work on that stuff and pick up. Whether it was in drills, I felt comfortable, I felt good."

The benefit for Haugh, despite the role being new, is his experience from last season, where he did play some possessions out on the wing while primarily being at the four.

"Tommy has proven the ability to be a good wing. He knows how to shake up and get a catch and shoot," Golden said. "He knows how to get downhill going right. Really good basketball players kind of figure it out, and he's one of those guys, and we still have the ability to play him at the trail when we want to get Condo some rest. He’s an elite playmaker in the middle of the floor.

The main question for Haugh is about the transition from defending in the post to out on the wing. However, with his length and athleticism, as well as some experience last year, Florida is confident in his abilities.

"I don’t think defense will ever be an issue for Tommy Haugh. I think he’s always going to compete really hard, make plays defensively," Condon said.

A large part of their confidence comes from Haugh fully embracing the role as well as the transfer guards in Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee playing with Haugh. The Gators also return both starting bigs from last season in Condon and Rueben Chinyelu.

"I think our defense this year is going to be really, really good," Haugh said. "We're able to switch off the ball, on the ball a lot. We have bigs that are able to move their feet, big guards too. Boogie is probably one of the best on-ball defenders I've seen in my time here at Florida, so that's going to be really good for us. Xaivian plays really good defense, too."

Overall, the position and role for Haugh may be new, but the expectations won't change. One of the biggest sparks on last year's title team, he has embraced a leadership role and the pressure of defending a title, although he said that won't be the focus of this year's team.

"It's college basketball, at this level there's a lot of pressure, in general," he said. "I think obviously that's going to be in the back of our minds, but I think this team's mature enough and confident enough to move on to the next year, and we're gonna go out there and show it."

This article first appeared on Florida Gators on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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