Report: Florida Guard Niels Lane Entering Transfer Portal

Niels Lane becomes the second Florida player with plans to leave the program via transfer during the 2023 offseason.

Photo: Niels Lane; Credit: Zach Goodall

Florida guard and rising senior Niels Lane intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, All Gators can confirm. Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun was first to report Lane's imminent departure from the program. 

Lane exits Gainesville following three seasons with the program, signing with Florida as a consensus three-star prospect out of Freehold (N.J.) Roselle Catholic in the class of 2020. He made 49 appearances and three starts for the Gators, averaging 2.3 points with a 44.8 shooting percentage and 1.4 rebounds across 10.6 minutes per game in that stretch.

He brought more to the defensive end of the floor as an uber-talented on-ball defender but struggled to carve out a substantial role.

Reports of Florida wing Kowacie Reeves Jr.'s plans to enter the portal surfaced minutes before Lane's departure was made known, only further depleting Todd Golden's roster entering his second offseason as the Gators' head coach.

Florida will shed seniors Colin Castleton, Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones from its roster as the trio of players has run out of eligibility. Jason Jitoboh and CJ Felder can utilize an extra year granted by COVID to remain with the program if they choose. 

The temptation to test the transfer portal could always lead to further losses, a commonality at this point in college sports. The potential to enter the 2023 NBA Draft could threaten guard Riley Kugel's status with the team in particular, although the freshman phenom shut down rumors of transferring before they could substantiate on March 4.

Golden and his coaching staff are expected to be active in the transfer portal for their own benefit this offseason to balance out the Gators' roster attrition.

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