Florida basketball guard Boogie Fland is already earning national recognition ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Monday that Fland was named to the Naismith Starting 5 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List. The annual award recognizes the top point guard in Division I men's college basketball.
The junior returns to Gainesville for his second season after playing a key role in Florida's run to the 2026 regular-season SEC title.
Fland averaged 11.6 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 campaign, starting all 35 games for the Gators. He also made his presence felt defensively, recording 61 steals, tied for the eighth-most in a single season in program history.
Now, Fland will look to take another step forward as part of a Florida backcourt that also returns Denzel Aberdeen.
Fland initially tested the NBA draft waters following his freshman campaign before withdrawing his name and entering the transfer portal. Florida, fresh off a national championship, quickly became a top destination and eventually landed the highly touted transfer.
His first year with the Gators wasn't without areas for improvement. Fland connected on just 24% of his 3-point attempts but remained efficient inside the arc, shooting 57.4% on 2-point attempts. He also posted a better-than-2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio while emerging as one of Florida's most disruptive perimeter defenders.
UF head coach Todd Golden praised Fland for his ability to distribute the ball and disrupt the opposing offenses.
“I feel like he's defending way more consistently and physically than he did early in the year. And he's an old-school point guard, man. Eight assists, one turnover. It's really, really valuable."
With a full season in Todd Golden's system behind him, Fland will have an opportunity to build on that production as Florida looks to remain among the nation's elite.
The top-ranked Gators return to the court Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC+ against Stetson. The matchup will be Florida's final preseason exhibition before the regular season opens Nov. 2 in Tampa against Miami.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida guard Boogie Fland lands on Bob Cousy Award watch list
