Meet the new Gators players from transfer portal
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GAINESVILLE — New Gators’ coach Jon Sumrall inherited a four-win team with a roster in need of a massive overhaul.
The transfer portal, which opened Friday, allows programs to accelerate the rebuilding process and replace departing players — more than 20 in Florida’s case.
After signing a 2026 recruiting class ranked 16th nationally while he still coached the Green Wave to CFP berth, Sumrall and his staff turned their attention to the 15-day transfer portal window Jan. 2-16.
Here’s a look at who the Gators have signed:
Washington during the early signing period.
RB Evan Pryor (committed Jan. 6)
Vitals: 5-9, 195 pounds
Resumé:Pryor was a 4-star prospect at Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., who signed at Ohio State as the nation’s No. 7 running back in the 2021 class. He played two seasons and appeared in eight games during seasons in Columbus (2021-22).
Role:Pryor rushed for 522 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, and scored three times for 2025 the Bearcats after totaling 418 yards and six scores on 56 carries in 2024.
Outlook: Jadan Baugh’s 266-yard day during UF’s 40-21 season-ending win against FSU made him the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015 and cemented the sophomore’s place the Gators’ key offensive weapon entering 2026. The departures of veterans Ja’Kobi Jackson, who played just four games because of injury, and Treyaun Webb, who did not play in 2025, put redshirt freshman Duke Clark and Byron Louis behind Baugh. Clark produced 58 yards on 14 carries, along with two catches for 14 yards in four appearances. Louis is a former Plantation American Heritage standout and a 4-star prospect in 2025 who did not appeared last season, but rushed 2,943 yards and 34 scores during his final two high school seasons.
WR Bailey Stockton (Jan. 5)
Vitals: 5-11, 185 pounds
Resumé: Stockton, the brother of Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton, was a 3-star prospect in the 2023 class who attened the Prince Avenue Christian School with Philo.
Role:Stockton 38 receptions for 439 yards and a touchdown in two seasons, including 21 catches for 233 yards during 11 appearances in 2024.
Outlook: The Gators have vast potential on the perimeter. Leading receiver Vernell Brown III and 6-foot-3, 213-pound Dallas Wilson return for their sophomore season. The Gators also welcome Davian Groce, rated the nation’s No. 4 “athlete” and No. 47 overall recruit, out of Frisco, Texas.
DT DK Kalu (Jan. 5)
Vitals: 6-4, 309 pounds
Resumé: Kala was a 3-star prospect out of Fort Bend Ridge Point in Missouri City, Texas, rated the nation’s No. 99 defensive tackle prospects in the 2023 class.
Role: Kalu recorded 11 tackles, including .5 for loss, and a quarterback hurry during nine games as a redshirt sophomore in 2025.
Outlook: The Gators lost Caleb Banks to the NFL and nose tackle Michai Boireau to the transfer portal. Baylor transfer Brendan Bett stepped in to produce (40 tackles, three sacks), while the emergence of true freshman Jeremiah McCloud (13 tackles) and Joseph Mbatchou (11) offer the Gators interior defenders to build around. UF also signed Kendall Guervil, a 4-star prospect out of Fort Myers, where he tallied 88 stops, including 12 for loss, in 2024.
TE Lacota Dippre, James Madison (Jan. 5)
Vitals: 6-3, 252 pounds
Resumé: Dippre was an unrated prospect out of Lakeland High in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, who spent 2023-24 at Charlotte, his final season on the defensive line.
Role:Dippre caught 17 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 during 13 appearances with a CFP qualifier.
Outlook: The departure of two-year starter Hayden Hansen leaves UF with only two experienced scholarship tight ends, senior Tony Livingston and redshirt sophomore Amir Jackson, who decided not to enter the portal. True freshman tight end Micah Jones, out of Madison, Miss., returns, but 3-star 2025 signee Cameron Kossman transferred. UF has yet to sign a tight end for the 2026 class. Kekua Aumua of Hawaii changed his commitment to Washington during the early signing period.
S DJ Coleman, Baylor (Jan. 4)
Vitals: 6-1, 210 pounds
Resumé:Coleman was a 3-star prospect out of Mesquite (Texas) Horn High School rated the nation’s No. 88 safety in the 2023 class.
Role: Coleman recorded 46 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups and two quarterbacks hurries during 12 games in 2025. He had 89 tackles and 13 pass breakups during 35 games in three seasons with the Bears.
Outlook: The Gators lost three-year starter Jordan Castell but re-signed senior Bryce Thornton, a two-year starter who recorded 56 tackles in 2025, second on the team to linebacker Myles Graham, along with a team-leading six pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries. Drake Stubbs of Jacksonville was the nation’s No. 6 safety prospect in the 2025 class, but managed just three tackles in eight appearances. UF signed two 4-star safeties in the 2026 class, 2025 Under Armour All-American Kaiden “KD” Hall of Milton, on the Florida Panhandle, and Dylan Purter of Alabama, who flipped his commitment from LSU.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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