Gators add 6-foot-11 transfer Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State

Rueben Chinyelu, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Washington State, averaged 4.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots during 35 appearances in 2023-24.

GAINESVILLE — Florida landed 6-foot-11 sophomore Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State to bolster the Gators’ size and frontcourt depth.

Chinyelu joins Apopka native Sam Alexis as Gators’ coach Todd Golden continued to tap the transfer portal to rebuild his 2024-25 roster.

Chinyelu (pronounced chin-YAY-loo) averaged 4.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots during 35 appearances, including 12 starts, in 2023-24. He 12 points and 11 rebounds during the Cougars’ win at fourth-ranked Arizona.

Chinyelu was recruited by Florida, Tennessee and Kansas, but opted to play for Kyle Smith, one of Golden’s mentors, before the 54-year-old coach left for Stanford.

The 20-year-old Chinyelu hails Nigeria, growing up Enugu Agidi, a village in the Anambra State. Chinyelu picked up basketball in 2018 in Lagos and later joined the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal.

At the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, his team won the championship while he led the tournament in rebounding to draw collegiate interest. He boasts a 7-foot, 8-inch wingspan.

Chinyelu will supplement a Gators’ inside game looking to replace 6-foot-10 Tyrese Samuel and offset the long recovery of 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten from a compound fracture of his lower right leg suffered March 17.

Rising sophomore Alex Condon, a 6-foot-11 native of Australia, is poised to take a big step after he averaged 7.2 points and 6.4 rebounds while leading UF with 45 blocked shots. The 6-foot-9 Haugh averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds to go with 25 blocked shots as a true freshmen.

Alexis, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound power forward who averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, shot 55% and blocked 70 shots last season at Chattanooga.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.