Florida senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. has been named a First-Team All-American by The Sporting News, making him the first player in UF program history to receive the recognition.
With the recognition, Clayton becomes the sixth Gator to earn first-, second- or third-team All-America recognition from a consensus selector.
Previous second- or third-team honors in Gainesville have been earned by Scottie Wilbekin (2014), Al Horford (2007), Joakim Noah (2007), Udonis Haslem (2001) and the program’s all-time leading rebounder, Neal Walk (1968, ’69).
Ahead of Florida’s trip to Nashville for the SEC Tournament, Clayton is averaging a team-leading 17.2 points, along with 4.3 assists and 2.8 3-point field goals per game this season.
With Clayton leading the way in the backcourt, the Gators became the fifth team in Division I men’s basketball history to secure a pair of wins over different No. 1-ranked opponents.
“I think he’s done a good job all year of kind of taking with the defense gives him. And there’s gonna be times where we want him to be very aggressive trying to score the ball because that’s just what makes him such a great player is his ability to score it from anywhere on the court,” UF head coach Todd Golden said of Clayton. “There’s gonna be times where he gets 30 in a game because that’s what the defense is kind of, for lack of a term, giving him. And there’s gonna be times where he gets eight or nine assists because teams are putting two on the ball against him. And that’s why he’s playing like a First Team All-American right now.”
In addition, Clayton was named First-Team All-SEC by the coaches and the media at the conclusion of the 2024-25 regular season.
Clayton capped his final regular season at Florida by scoring 23 points and dishing out eight assists in UF’s 90-71 win Saturday on Senior Day against Ole Miss. After the contest, UF head coach Golden looked back on Clayton’s time in Gainesville, saying the former Iona transfer’s impact was immeasurable for a team that finished the regular season with a 27-4 record and is on the cusp of securing a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
“When you’re trying to turn a program, and you’re trying to, you know, get this program back to where it’s been, you need to hit on some big-time recruits that kind of change the trajectory of your program, and Walter is obviously that,” Golden said. “And we had to battle St. John’s and, you know, try to talk him into coming home. And thank goodness his family lives close to here, and he’s a family guy and he loves his family. And, you know, winning that battle was huge for us, and he was fantastic all year for us last year, and I think we can all agree the jump that he’s made this year, in his senior year, moving on the ball. And, you know, in my humble estimation, being the best point guard in America, you know, has been huge for our team this year.”
The Gators travel to Nashville to take on either LSU, Mississippi State or Missouri at 7 p.m. ET Friday.
The Sporting News All-America Teams
First Team
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
Second Team
Eric Dixon, Villanova
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Kam Jones, Marquette
John Tonje, Wisconsin
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Third Team
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
RJ Luis, St. John’s
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
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