Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden is preparing to honor his seniors on Senior Night, recognizing the players who will be graduating. One player, though, who will not be among those honored is junior forward Thomas Haugh.
Why? Well, Haugh is a junior who might just wrap up his college basketball career at the end of the 2025-26 college basketball season. He’s potentially putting his eyes on becoming part of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Florida’s Todd Golden Explains Not Honoring Thomas Haugh
When meeting with reporters on Monday, Golden explained his decision not to include Haugh in the Senior Night festivities. Isaac Edelman, a sports broadcaster, reporter, and founder of FL Teams, posted on X some of Golden’s comments.
Thomas Haugh will likely play his final game in the O’Dome tomorrow night.
Todd Golden said the Gators won’t be honoring him on senior night, though.
“He’s only a junior. I’m going to be consistent with honored seniors on senior night. I’m pretty sure, you know, if and when… pic.twitter.com/S3ODKimSve
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) March 2, 2026
“He’s only a junior,” Golden said. “I’m going to be consistent with honored seniors on senior night. I’m pretty sure, you know, if and when Tommy decides to go, which, if he does, he has our full support.
“He’s given everything to our program and he’s in a great position, you know, to further his career,” Golden said. “He will be honored appropriately and I think he, if he decides to leave, will leave behind a great legacy. He’ll be fine.”
Golden is getting some praise for taking his stance regarding Haugh and Senior Night. The InAllKindsOfWeather.com account on X, which refers to a blog that covers all things Florida Gators, posted the following: “I’m in the weird position of hating that Thomas Haugh won’t get a Senior Day and yet loving Todd Golden’s reasoning.”
I’m in the weird position of hating that Thomas Haugh won’t get a Senior Day and yet loving Todd Golden’s reasoning. https://t.co/BXZtK3d9hX
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) March 2, 2026
Haugh is averaging 17.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game, and shooting 46.9% from the floor. Those are pretty good numbers for a player who might be looking to continue his basketball career in the NBA.
This season, the fifth-ranked Gators are sitting atop the Southeastern Conference standings with a 23-6 overall record and a 14-2 record in SEC play. Florida is two games ahead of the Alabama Crimson Tide and three games ahead of the Arkansas Razorbacks in the latest SEC standings.
