Florida Tops Preseason AP Men’s Basketball Poll at No. 1

WHO:

Newsweek - Florida’s Gators topped the 2026-27 preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 2006.

RealGM Basketball - Florida coach Todd Golden said, “It's cool, but like, we've been No. 1 before. We won a national championship before. That's what I want our program to expect. That's what we want to kind of go into every season at.”

RealGM Basketball - Florida players Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Denzel Aberdeen played on the 2025 title team. Aberdeen returned after a season at Kentucky and received another year of eligibility by court order.

RealGM Basketball - Duke, Illinois, UConn, Arizona, Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Houston, Louisville, Arkansas, St. John’s, Miami (Fla.), Gonzaga, Michigan, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Alabama, USC, UCLA, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and BYU were also in the preseason poll.

WHAT:

Newsweek - Florida ranked No. 1 in the 2026-27 preseason AP Top 25, ahead of Duke, Illinois and UConn.

RealGM Basketball - Florida received 47 of 59 first-place votes. Duke ranked No. 2 with 10 first-place votes; Illinois ranked No. 3 with the other two. UConn and Arizona completed the top five.

RealGM Basketball - Florida began the previous season at No. 3, fell out of the poll by early January, won the SEC regular-season title and lost to Iowa in the NCAA Tournament’s second round as a No. 1 seed.

RealGM Basketball - Duke’s No. 2 preseason ranking matched its best since 2017. Illinois matched its best preseason ranking since 2001 after reaching its first Final Four in two decades.

RealGM Basketball - Kansas ranked No. 17 with top recruit Tyran Stokes and recent addition Trey Kaufman-Renn. Vanderbilt returned to the preseason poll for the first time since 2015.

RealGM Basketball - Kentucky made its 998th poll appearance and could become the first program to reach 1,000 in two weeks.

RealGM Basketball - Purdue dropped out, ending a 79-week ranking streak. Houston had the longest active streak at 127 weeks.

WHERE:

RealGM Basketball - Florida won the SEC regular-season title; Florida’s loss to Iowa occurred in the NCAA Tournament.

WHY:

RealGM Basketball - Golden said he wants Florida’s program to expect to be No. 1 and to enter every season with that expectation.

HOW:

RealGM Basketball - The preseason AP Top 25 ranked teams by poll votes; Florida received 47 first-place votes out of 59.

RealGM Basketball - Preseason rankings: 1 Florida; 2 Duke; 3 Illinois; 4 UConn; 5 Arizona; 6 Michigan State; 7 Texas; 8 Tennessee; 9 Virginia; 10 Houston; 11 Louisville; 12 Arkansas; 13 St. John’s; 14 Miami (Fla.); 15 Gonzaga; 16 Michigan; 17 Kansas; 18 Iowa State; 19 Texas Tech; 20 Alabama; 21 USC; 22 UCLA; 23 Kentucky; 24 Vanderbilt; 25 BYU.

(UPDATED October 20, 2026 00:00 UTC)

Florida is No. 1 in the men’s college basketball preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 2006, earning 47 of 59 first-place votes ahead of Duke, Illinois, UConn and Arizona. Coach Todd Golden said he wants the program to expect to be No. 1 every season, and four players from Florida’s 2025 championship team are back, including Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. Purdue dropped out after a 79-week run in the poll, while Houston now has the longest active streak at 127 weeks.