Bartow grad Walter Clayton Jr.'s career high sends Florida to NCAA national championship game

Star guard won a pair of Florida boys high school basketball state championships before joining the Gators

Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) shoots the ball past Auburn Tigers center Dylan Cardwell (44) during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Alamodome. Clayton led Bartow High to state championships in 2020-21. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

It is safe to say now that Florida’s Walter Clayton, Jr., has become “Mr. Clutch” in the NCAA Tournament.

Clayton, who led Bartow High to consecutive boys' basketball state championships in 2020-21, pumped in a career-high 34 points on Saturday to rally the Gators past No. 1 overall seed Auburn, 79-73, in the Final Four in San Antonio. It was the fourth time in five tournament games that he led the team in scoring and third time that his shooting proved to be key in victory.

UF trailed Auburn, 46-38, at halftime but slowly whittled away at the deficit. Clayton scored seven points in the final 2 minutes, 24 seconds to ice the win.

Florida (35-4) advanced to Monday’s national championship game against Houston (35-4), which stunned Duke, 70-67, in the other national semifinal. It will be the Gators’ fourth national title game appearance, first since 2007.

“I got a bunch of guys around me that trust me,” said Clayton in the postgame interview with CBS Sports after becoming the first player since Larry Bird (1979) to score 30 or more points in both the Elite Eight and Final Four. “I say that all the time. Those guys trust me to take those shots and tonight was one of those nights.”

A week ago, the First Team All-American guard exploded for 22 second-half points, including eight in the final 1 minute, 3 seconds, to lift the Gators past Texas Tech, 84-79, in the NCAA Tournament West Region championship game in San Francisco. He finished with 30 points.

Clayton scored 23 points, including a pair of huge 3-pointers in the final 3 minutes, to rally the top-seeded Gators past two-time defending national champion Connecticut, 77-75, in a second-round game of the West Regional.

“He has done what he has done all year for us,” said UF coach Todd Golden, who, in just his third year at the helm, has led the Gators to the national title game. “He hit huge shots and settled our team down when we needed it the most.”

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