The countdown to the 2026-27 college basketball season is merely months aways, and preseason player rankings are beginning to provide a glimpse at some of the nation's top talent. Sports Illustrated is continuing its position-by-position series, ranking the best players in the country.
This latest installment focuses on small forwards, with several of the nation's top wings earning recognition ahead of the upcoming season. Among the top is Florida's Thomas Haugh, who enters the 2026-27 campaign looking to put the finishing touches on his Florida Gator career.
Haugh lands at the very top of Sports Illustrated's top 10 small forwards list.
The 6-foot-9-inch small forward was a projected first-round draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft but decided to return to school to help the Gators win another championship and cement his legacy as an all-time great within the program.
After losing three key contributors from the 2025 national championship team, Haugh produced a career year last season, averaging 17.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on 46% shooting from the field.
Since returning to Gainesville, Haugh has emerged as one of the most highly regarded players in college basketball. With expectations continuing to rise, he enters the 2026-27 season as a legitimate Wooden Award candidate and a contender for several other major individual honors.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida's Thomas Haugh tops list of nation's best small forwards
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