Gators' Thomas Haugh Among Nation's Best Small Forwards with Recent Accolade

Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh has become one of the top players in the country this season.

Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh has become one of the top players in the country this season. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Turning in performance after performance so far for the Florida Gators in the 2025-26 campaign, forward Thomas Haugh earned a nomination to the Julius Erving Midseason Top 10 Watch List on Wednesday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced. The Julius Erving Award honors the nation’s top small forward. 

Mr. Haugh

ℹ️ https://t.co/efNkIYYOAf pic.twitter.com/Z2CJgOhE0G

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 4, 2026

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward from New Oxford, Pa., has been the most consistent player for the Gators this season, averaging 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a junior, and shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three on 5.5 attempts per game. 

In the season-opening defeat to the Arizona Wildcats, Haugh poured in a season-high 27 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and making 12 of his 14 free throw attempts. 

He continued his efficient outings against ranked opponents in Florida’s contests with Duke and UConn, too. Versus the Blue Devils, Haugh led all Gators with 24 points on 60 percent shooting overall and tallied six rebounds. He then added 18 more points against the Huskies in Madison Square Garden on 58.3 percent shooting and 60 percent from deep. 

The future first-round pick in this year's NBA draft also carried over his productive play into the SEC, where he is averaging 19 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.7 steals and one block in the Gators nine league contests. He is also shooting 36.5 percent on 3-pointers on 5.8 attempts per game during this stretch. 

Haugh's best overall performance against an SEC opponent came against Georgia back near the beginning of January. He provided 21 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals in the win over the Bulldogs. Moreover, he became just the fifth player this century to record a stat line of at least 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots against a top-25 opponent. 

However, he tied his season-high in points in the matchup with the Auburn Tigers. He posted 27 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in the loss to the Tigers. 

With this nomination, Haugh is the first Gator named to the Erving Award list since Keyontae Johnson’s appearance on the 2020 preseason watch list. 

He joins Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois), Milan Momcilovic (Iowa State), Ryan Conwell (Louisville), Coen Carr (Michigan State), Nate Ament (Tennessee), Dailyn Swain (Texas) and Chad Baker-Mazara (USC) on the midseason watch list.