Florida basketball recruiting: Four-star 2022 G Riley Kugel commits as roster rebuild continues

Basketball

0

Image Credit: Riley Kugel / Twitter

Head coach Todd Golden’s reconstituting of the Florida Gators basketball roster is nearly complete as the program on Monday added its first high school commitment under his watch. Four-star guard Riley Kugel (Orlando, FL) has decided to join the Gators, choosing Florida over Georgia and LSU.

Kugel (6-foot-5, 185 pounds) was the lone consensus top 100 prospect still available this cycle. He is ranked No. 78 in the 247Sports Composite and No. 48 in the site’s internal rankings.

Previously committed to Mississippi State, Kugel reopened his recruitment after head coach Ben Howland was fired in March. It was thought that UF would be a serious contender for his services given Korey McCray, an assistant for the Bulldogs, is now an associate head coach under Golden.

The addition of Kugel boosts Florida a whopping 24 spots to No. 26 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. He is the second and likely final member of the Gators’ incoming 2022 recruiting class joining three-star G Denzel Aberdeen (Orlando, FL). Kugel and Aberdeen have spent the last few years as teammates at Dr. Phillips High School.

Golden has been working his tail off to maintain and build Florida’s roster since taking over. He started by rerecruiting redshirt senior forward Colin Castleton, sophomore G Kowacie Reeves and redshirt senior G Myreon Jones, among others on the team.

The Gators have also added four notable transfers, three of whom are ranked in the 247Sports transfer portal: St. Bonaventure point guard Kyle Lofton (No. 31), LSU FAlex Fudge (No. 49), Belmont G Will Richard (No. 53) and VMI G Trey Bonham.