Seton Hall Center Transfer Tyrese Samuel Commits to Florida
Arguably the hottest run on the college basketball transfer portal trail continues for the Gators as Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel has elected to team up with Todd Golden and Co. at Florida.
The center prospect from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, chose UF over Wake Forest via social media on Sunday night.
The news comes on the heels of an official visit to Gainesville.
Samuel will serve in tandem with newly acquired center prospect Micah Handlogten, as he presents what the latter lacks on the offensive side of the ball at the moment and possesses the coveted size brought in by the staff since they arrived.
Standing at 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, Samuel is a talented scorer on the inside, accounting for 11 points per game on 55% from the floor for the Pirates a season ago. He added 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game to provide an intriguing, veteran portal prospect for center-needy teams.
Plus, his experience and production at the Power Six level bodes well for the near-direct translation of his numbers over to the SEC next season, whereas that of mid-major talent can be more volatile.
Florida, as a result, came calling.
Samuel will provide a one-year bridge to patch some of what the Gators will miss from a paint scoring perspective as life without Colin Castleton begins in 2023-24.
Handlogten, at 7-foot-1, will bring dynamic rebounding and rim protecting skills to the table in rotation with Samuel. He’s also shown to be a plus-facilitator from his post position — although he struggled when forced to put the ball on the floor at Marshall.
The complementary one-two punch at the five spot equips the unit with high-caliber skill and length to combat nearly any lineup they see next season.
It immediately bolsters a historically poor rebounding team and re-instills a defensive fortitude that evaporated following Castleton’s season-ending injury over the last month of the 2022-23 campaign.
Florida now holds four transfer commits with Samuel joining his aforementioned partner-in-crime Handlogten, fellow frontcourt member EJ Jarvis and guard Walter Clayton Jr.
Center Alex Condon — who recently made his commitment official by putting pen to paper on his NLI — and forward Thomas Haugh join the quartet of portal newcomers as part of the 2023 class.
The Gators carry three scholarships openings ahead as they look to fill out the remainder of the roster. North Texas guard transfer Tylor Perry aligns as the most notable player of interest for UF at this time.
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