GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Walter Clayton Jr. has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Roy F. Kramer Male Athlete of the Year, the SEC announced on Tuesday.
Clayton led the Gators to the 2025 men’s basketball national championship while garnering Final Four Most Outstanding Player recognition and consensus first-team All-America honors. He becomes Florida’s 14th all-time Kramer Athlete of the Year honoree (17 total honors) and the first in men’s basketball.
Clayton is UF’s sixth male athlete so honored, joining Danny Wuerffel (1995, ’96), Ryan Lochte (2005), Tim Tebow (2007, ’08), Caeleb Dressel (2018) and Grant Holloway (2019). This also marks the third straight year that Florida has had an honoree with Parker Valby (2024) and Trinity Thomas (2023) taking home Female Athlete of the Year recognition. Florida leads the SEC all-time with eight male and nine female Athlete of the Year honors.
The Lake Wales, Fla., native averaged 18.3 points last season, and his 713 total points set Florida’s single-season record. He was at his best in the biggest moments, as he recorded a career-high 34 points in the Final Four vs. Auburn on the heels of 30 in the Elite Eight victory vs. Texas Tech, becoming the first player since Larry Bird to post 30+ points in back-to-back games in the regional final or later.
Clayton also averaged 20.7 points and shot 13-for-26 from 3-point range in the SEC Tournament to win MVP and All-Tournament Team honors as UF won the event for the first time since 2014.
Clayton graduated from UF in Spring 2025 with a degree in Educational Sciences and was selected 18th overall in the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.
Clayton led the Gators to the 2025 men’s basketball national championship while garnering Final Four Most Outstanding Player recognition and consensus first-team All-America honors. He becomes Florida’s 14th all-time Kramer Athlete of the Year honoree (17 total honors) and the first in men’s basketball.
Clayton is UF’s sixth male athlete so honored, joining Danny Wuerffel (1995, ’96), Ryan Lochte (2005), Tim Tebow (2007, ’08), Caeleb Dressel (2018) and Grant Holloway (2019). This also marks the third straight year that Florida has had an honoree with Parker Valby (2024) and Trinity Thomas (2023) taking home Female Athlete of the Year recognition. Florida leads the SEC all-time with eight male and nine female Athlete of the Year honors.
The Lake Wales, Fla., native averaged 18.3 points last season, and his 713 total points set Florida’s single-season record. He was at his best in the biggest moments, as he recorded a career-high 34 points in the Final Four vs. Auburn on the heels of 30 in the Elite Eight victory vs. Texas Tech, becoming the first player since Larry Bird to post 30+ points in back-to-back games in the regional final or later.
Clayton also averaged 20.7 points and shot 13-for-26 from 3-point range in the SEC Tournament to win MVP and All-Tournament Team honors as UF won the event for the first time since 2014.
Clayton graduated from UF in Spring 2025 with a degree in Educational Sciences and was selected 18th overall in the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.