Florida Gators' Walter Clayton Jr. Earns Coaches All-SEC Honors

The Florida Gators guard continues to be handed preseason accolades ahead of the season

Walter Clayton Jr. continues to get high praise ahead of the Florida Gators 2024-25 season / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Florida Gators men’s basketball senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. continues to rack up preseason accolades. He has been named to the coaches’ First-Team All-SEC team. 

He was the only Gators player named to any of the three All-SEC teams. 

In addition to this honor,  Clayton has also been named Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watch List and the media's First-Team All-SEC team.

Last season, Clayton averaged 17.6 points per game, shot for 43.2% from the field, had a 36.5% three-point percentage and shot 87.7% from the free throw line. 

Clayton enters the season as one of three Gators players with 1,000 points scored at the college level. The others on the team are alongside Alijah Martin (1,476) and Will Richard (1,143). 

Clayton helped lead the Gators to arguably their best season in nearly a decade. Their 24 wins were the most they had in a season since the 2016-17 season when they went 27-9 in Mike White’s second season at the helm. 

The Gators also made it all the way to the SEC Tournament championship game and made it to March Madness for the first time in three years. They were bounced out in the first round, but the expectations are on the rise. It helps when a good chunk of the roster will be back this year. 

CBS Sports recently named the Gators the best team from the State of Florida. Clayton, along with Martin, was a reason why the Gators were rated so highly among their Florida counterparts. 

Florida has also been ranked in the preseason polls for the first time since the 2019-20 season. They are ranked No. 21 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. 

The Florida Gators season is just a few days away. They’ll open their season against the USF Bulls for a neutral site bout on Monday, Nov. 4.