Gators add 6-foot-11 transfer Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State
GAINESVILLE — Florida landed 6-foot-11 sophomore Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State to bolster the Gators’ size and frontcourt depth.
Chinyelu joins Apopka native Sam Alexis as Gators coach Todd Golden continued to tap the transfer portal to rebuild his 2024-25 roster.
Chinyelu (pronounced chin-YAY-loo) averaged 4.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during 35 appearances, including 12 starts, last season. He had 12 points and 11 rebounds during the Cougars’ win at then-No. 4 Arizona.
Chinyelu was recruited by Florida, Tennessee and Kansas, but opted to play for Kyle Smith, one of Golden’s mentors, before the 54-year-old coach left for Stanford.
Chinyelu, 20, is from Nigeria, growing up Enugu Agidi, a village in the Anambra State. Chinyelu picked up basketball in 2018 in Lagos and later joined the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal.
At the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, his team won the championship while he led the tournament in rebounding to draw collegiate interest. He has a 7-8 wingspan.
Chinyelu will supplement an inside game looking to replace 6-foot-10 Tyrese Samuel and offset the long recovery of 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten from a compound fracture of his lower right leg March 17.
Rising sophomore Alex Condon, a 6-foot-11 native of Australia, is poised to take a big step after he averaged 7.2 points and 6.4 rebounds while leading UF with 45 blocks.
Thomas Haugh, a 6-foot-9 true freshman last season, averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds to go with 25 blocks.
Alexis, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound power forward who averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, shot 55% and blocked 70 shots last season at Chattanooga.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.
