Florida forward Aleks Szymczyk enters NCAA transfer portal

Florida forward Aleks Szymczyk has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned.

Szymczyk missed all of last season with an injury. He appeared in 14 games as a freshman in 2022-23, averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

Szymczyk, who is from Frankfurt, Germany, signed with the Gators out of Gymnasium München-Nord-IBAM.

With Florida dealing with injury issues late in his freshman season, he played in the final seven games in 2022-23, averaging 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds during that time. He finished with a career high 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals at Arkansas.

Szymczyk could have potentially seen a bigger role for the Gators in 2023-24, but he suffered a foot injury during preseason practice and missed the entire year. He was eventually able to return to practice, but he did not play in a game for Florida.

The Gators had a strong season under second-year head coach Todd Golden, going 24-12 (11-7). Florida advanced to the NCAA Tournament, before losing a heartbreaker to Colorado in the opening round.

On a positive note for Florida, the Gators have an open scholarship as they look to complete their roster for the 2024-25 season.

Arizona big man transfer Oumar Ballo has interest in Florida

Speaking of Florida looking to complete its roster, Oumar Ballo has interest in the Gators.

Ballo has five visits set, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. Ballo is planning to visit Indiana, Louisville, Kansas State, North Carolina and Florida.

In his 132 games, Ballo has averaged 9.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 64.6% from the field. Most of that has come in his 108 games with the Wildcats, including the past two seasons as a full-time starter in 71 games, where he posted 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 64.6% overall.

In his first year at Arizona, Ballo was the Sixth Man of the Year in the Pac-12 behind Christian Koloko. He since has emerged in the conference as an all-league player the last two years. In that time, he is a two-time All Pac-12 First Team selection, a Pac-12 All-Defensive Selection and honorable mention, an All Pac-12 Tournament Team member, and was the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player in ’22-’23.

Ball comes from Koulikoro, Mali. In his home country, he participated in the FIBA U16 and U18 African Championship as well as the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup. He also attended the NBA Academy Latin America, which is where he came out of before going to college at Gonzaga and then Arizona.