Florida Announces Signings of Lee, Ingram

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators announced Tuesday afternoon the signing of both transfer guard Xaivian Lee and high school recruit CJ Ingram for the 2025-26 campaign. 

Lee, transferring from Princeton, committed to the Gators back on April 16 while Ingram had been committed since August of last year after switching his focus to basketball after a whirlwind football recruitment.  The latter had the option but decided not to join fellow Gator signee Alex Lloyd in signing his paperwork during the early signing period back in November. 

For Gators head coach Todd Golden, grabbing Lee out of the portal was paramount as he is being tasked with replacing Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin and now Denzel Aberdeen, who just recently committed to Kentucky, this offseason. 

“We are elated to welcome Xaivian Lee into our program here at the University of Florida,” Golden said in the announcement. “While our three senior leaders move on from the perimeter, it was really important to add someone of Xaivian’s caliber both as a player and as a person.”

Florida’s head coach also added what makes Lee a problem for opposing defenders. 

“Xaivian is an electric play-maker that is an equal threat to score or facilitate off the bounce,” Golden said. “He does a great job of leading the team, putting his teammates in position to be successful while taking great care of the basketball.”

The former Princeton guard is rated as the No. 29 overall player in the portal and No. 7 point guard, according to 247Sports transfer rankings. 

Getting Ingram in the fold and to campus is great for Golden, too. Ingram, the son of former UF football and basketball player Cornelius Ingram, brings size and length out on the perimeter, standing in at 6-foot-6, 195 pounds.

“CJ is a huge addition for our program,” Golden said. “Coming from a legacy Gator family, we know how much he cares about wearing the orange and blue. We are thrilled to welcome him!”

Ingram is also still developing on the hardwood as he only recently made the full-time switch to the sport after splitting his focus on both basketball and football, which he was a three-star athlete and had earned an offer from UF head football coach Billy Napier.  

“CJ was a multi-sport star who just this past year, focused solely on basketball, and you can see the great strides he’s made already,” Golden said. 

The Monteverde (Fla.) Academy forward ranks as the No. 22 overall prospect in the 2025 class and No. 4 overall player in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports. 

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