4-Star Recruit Ingram Signs With Florida Basketball

After committing to Florida in August, Hawthorne native CJ Ingram signed to play for Florida coach Todd Golden on Wednesday. The No. 2 Gators men’s basketball team will welcome the four-star recruit next year as a small forward.

Congratulations to senior CJ Ingram on making his commitment to Florida official on signing day ✍️ @GatorsMBK are getting a competitor with a high ceiling 💪 pic.twitter.com/Xgvqw3gGj0

— Montverde Academy Basketball (@MVABasketball) February 19, 2025

Before heading to Montverde Academy for his senior year, Ingram was a standout player in basketball and football at Hawthorne High School.

In his two years on the field, he played quarterback, leading the Hornets to back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024. Ingram averaged 151.4 yards in his 24 games played. He totaled 3,634 career passing yards and 837 on the ground with 45 touchdowns behind center. His new school has not had a football team in a decade, allowing him to focus on basketball.

On the court, he started on the varsity squad as an eighth-grader. In his junior season at Hawthorne, Ingram had an average of 24 points and 8.5 rebounds per game to earn The Gainesville Sun’s Small School Player of the Year. Now, he is leading Montverde in points (12.5 PPG), rebounds (6.8 per game) and steals (1.8 per game).

Ingram is ranked 22nd in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports.

Florida Legacy

CJ Ingram follows in the footsteps of his father, Gator great Cornelius Ingram. Playing both football and basketball in his time at Florida, Cornelius Ingram was a part of the 2006 and 2008 NCAA championship teams, as a tight end.

He also had his start at Hawthorne and he has led the Hornets’ football program since the 2015 season, winning multiple state titles in football and girls basketball.

Up Next

Led by Ingram, the Montverde Eagles play Indiana team La Lumiere at IMG Academy on Friday at 5:45 p.m. before facing the Ascenders on Saturday afternoon.

Florida (23-3, 10-3 SEC) plays at LSU (14-12, 3-10) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Catch live coverage on the SEC Network and the second half on 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF at about 7:15.