Now in his third year as head coach of the Florida Gators, Todd Golden has led the team to its first national title game appearance since 2007.
With the Gators on the verge of greatness, let’s take a look back at Golden’s college career and where he was playing the last time Florida was in the championship game.
Where Did Todd Golden Play College Basketball?
Born July 7, 1985, in Phoenix, Arizona, Todd Golden graduated from Sunnyslope High School in 2003. A dual-sport athlete in basketball and baseball, he played a key role in Sunnyslope’s 2002 Arizona 1A state basketball title, scoring 16 of the team’s 61 points in a 62-61 win.
Now the head coach of the Florida Gators men’s basketball team, he played guard at Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference from 2004 to 2008. There, he served as a guard for the Gaels, making a strong impact throughout his four-year stint and leading the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Over the course of four seasons with the Gaels, Golden saw action in 109 games, starting 82, and posted averages of 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
During the 2007–08 season, Golden ranked as the second-best college player in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.68 while making 45.9% of his three-pointers. Throughout his time at Saint Mary’s Golden owned the second-highest career free-throw percentage record before Matthew Dellavedova took over as leader.
Immediately after obtaining his degree in 2008, Golden left for Israel to join Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Golden appeared in 22 matches over two seasons and coincidentally played for current Auburn coach Bruce Pearl in the 2009 United States Maccabiah Games competition.
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After his professional playing days ended, Golden briefly worked in advertising sales before entering coaching. He joined Kyle Smith’s staff at Columbia, first as director of basketball operations, then as an assistant. He later reunited with Pearl at Auburn before returning to work with Smith at the University of San Francisco.
Golden finally got his big break in 2019 when he took the reins of the San Francisco team before moving to Gainesville in 2023.
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