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Center Jones Lay commits to Todd Golden's Florida Gators

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr7 hours agoOn3Keith
Jones Lay

Three-star center Jones Lay has become the first commitment in the 2026 recruiting class for the Florida Gators and Todd Golden. Jones, listed at 7-feet and 230 pounds, plays at Moravian Prep in North Carolina. He is the No. 20 center in the country for Rivals and the No. 142 overall prospect in the 2026 class.

“I chose Florida because I think it is where I myself can have the most success,” Lay told Rivals’ Joe Tipton.

Lay officially visited UF this past weekend. Per Jamie Shaw of Rivals, “South Carolina was the other SEC program that was involved with Lay.” That trip helped turn this recruitment in favor of the Orange and Blue, due to the feeling he got when spending time with the Florida staff.

“Just building great relationships with all the coaches really helped me trust the staff.”

The Gators are coming off a national championship campaign in which they finished 36-4 in Golden’s third season. They return several players from that squad this upcoming season, including forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh, along with center Rueben Chinyelu. Meanwhile, Florida also added some talented transfers, notably points guards  Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland.

In the 2025 recruiting class, Florida signed two of the best guards in the country and both are from the Sunshine State—CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd. Both were top-50 national recruits. Lay is the first commitment for Todd Golden and the Florida staff in the 2026 class. As the first in the fold for the Gators, Jones Lay shared what fans can expect from him on the court when he arrives on campus.

“I would describe my game as kind of doing all the dirty work like rebounding, blocking shots and just doing what it takes to help the team win.”

Last Saturday, the basketball squad held an open practice in the O’Dome and two former players — Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard — competed against the current team. You can read about that here and watch video.

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