Florida G Riley Kugel enters transfer portal, names top 4

Florida guard Riley Kugel is entering the transfer portal, and he has already narrowed things down to four elite teams.

Florida sophomore guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, and he already has a top four — Arizona,  Connecticut, Houston and Kansas.

“I’m thankful to all of Gator Nation for nothing but love and support over these past two years,” Kugel said in his transfer portal announcement. “It’s been fun and I appreciate everyone who has supported me through thick and thin.

“I will always be thankful for the bond I have built with my teammates in my freshman and sophomore years.”

Kugel narrowed things down to four schools within 24 hours, but he wasn’t officially in the portal as of his Thursday tweet. Still, there are very low expectations that Todd Golden and the Gators will attempt to bring Kugel back after a failed project this past season.

A potential draft pick coming into the season, Kugel never found his footing under Golden. He missed a few games and ultimately moved into a sixth-man role off the bench before dropping even further down the depth chart. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.

The former No. 48 overall recruit and four-star recruit earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2022-23.

Kugel leaves Florida with 620 career points on 224-of-529 (.423) shooting. He went 69 of 202 (.342) from three-point range and recorded 81 assists.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.