Gators, UNC No Longer In Pursuit of USC Transfer Guard

The Florida Gators are no longer pushing to land a top guard in the transfer portal

The Gators land another big target / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators have reportedly decided not to pursue USC transfer guard Desmond Claude. According to On3's Joe Tipton, UNC is also no longer in the mix for his services either.

Florida is no longer in pursuit of USC transfer guard Desmond Claude, sources tells @On3sports.

Story (On3+): https://t.co/05K1Sl80rM pic.twitter.com/9XzgzMRsi5

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 5, 2025

There is no word on if he is closing in on any particular school. Florida was seen as the "team to beat" to win over Claude as recently as last week. Ole Miss, Kansas and BYU were reported to have interest and there is no report yet that that has changed.

Claude is currently ranked as the No. 9 point guard and No. 34 player overall in the transfer portal, according to 247 Sports. He entered the transfer portal in the hours before the window closed last week.

The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his lone season with the Trojans. He was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention as voted on by the media.

Claude spent his first two seasons with Xavier. In his second season with the program, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game named as the Big East's Most Improved Player.

Claude was seen as able to help bolster a Gators team that has lost a lot of big names either to the draft or to the portal. Guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin as well as forward/center Alex Condon are heading to the NBA Draft. Condon entered the draft while maintaining his college eligibility.

This assistance will come elsewhere now.

Denzel Aberdeen departed to rival Kentucky via the portal for what was reported to be for financial reasons. Forward Thomas Haugh has chosen to return to Florida.

Without Claude, there is still an incoming group of standout transfers. They've added guards Xaivian Lee and AJ Brown via the portal. Like Claude, Lee is a top-10 point guard transfer.

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