Florida added a commitment Monday from four-star guard Riley Kugel, the only unsigned top-100 recruit in the 2022 class.
The 6-foot-5 wing from Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Fla., was released from his national letter of intent at Mississippi State following the firing of coach Ben Howland in March. One of Howland's top assistants, Korey McRay, who served as Kugel’s lead recruiter in Starkville, subsequently joined Todd Golden's new staff at Florida.
The No. 78 national recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite, Kugel originally had offers from Auburn, Houston and Miami. After decommitting from Mississippi State, he listed a final three of Florida, Georgia and LSU. Ultimately that boiled down to a Florida-Georgia battle as LSU recently began looking at other options.
Kugel’s high school teammate, combo guard Denzel Aberdeen, signed with the Gators in November and has enrolled. Florida still has one scholarship available for next season and is pursuing a front court player.