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Walter Clayton Jr. adds more All-America honors

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•04/02/25•

ZachAbolverdi

Walter-Clayton-Jr-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) celebrates defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the West Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators starting point guard Walter Clayton Jr. adding to his list of accolades this week, receiving John R. Wooden Award All America and Top 5 honors, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Tuesday.

Clayton already swept first-team All-America honors from all four consensus selectors after being recognized by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He is the first Gator to earn first-team All-America honors from any outlet and the first to be honored as an All-American on all four major teams.

A native of Lake Wales, Fla., Clayton has put together one of the most decorated seasons in Florida history as he has helped lead the Gators to their sixth Final Four berth. He leads the Gators with 18.1 points and 4.2 assists per game, both career highs, and also earned first-team All-SEC and SEC Tournament MVP honors.

“He is one of the big stars (of March Madness),” Florida coach Todd Golden said on Tuesday. “I’ve been incredibly impressed with the way he’s handled himself, you know, throughout this whole journey. He’s had an incredibly rewarding year from a basketball standpoint and from a human standpoint, obviously has a beautiful baby girl now. He’s done a great job being a good father and balancing basketball, being a father and his books.

“He never gets too high or too low and I don’t anticipate that changing before this weekend. I think he’s gonna absorb it. I think he’s gonna take it all in and continue to compete at a really, really good level and not let it detour him from his focus of trying to lead us to a national championship.”

RELATED: Cold-Blooded Killer: Walter Clayton Jr. delivers (again) in the clutch

Clayton has averaged 22.3 points per game in NCAA Tournament play and was named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player. He scored eight points over the final three minutes on Saturday vs. Texas Tech, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, part of Florida’s 18-4 run to close the game and reach the Final Four.

The Gators return to the court Saturday in a rematch against Auburn at 6:09 p.m. ET in San Antonio, Texas, airing on CBS.

John R. Wooden Award Men’s All-America Team

Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin

John R. Wooden Award Top 5

Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue

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