Florida Gators

Safir was promoted to assistant coach in 2025 following the Gators’ national championship. Safir was instrumental in constructing Florida’s championship roster over his three seasons as director of basketball strategy and analytics.
 
The Gators’ third national championship in program history and first in 18 years capped a 36-4 record in the 2024-25 season. Florida also earned its fifth SEC Tournament title and sixth Final Four appearance, both the team’s first since 2014.
 
The championships all came as part of a memorable 12-game win streak to end the season that began March 1. The 12-game run to close the season included nine top-25 wins, a total that eclipsed any full-season total in program history. Eight of the nine ranked wins in that run were vs. teams in the top 12, and UF finished the season with a program-record 12 top-25 wins.
 
The Gators’ run to the title tied for the toughest path all-time for a #1-seed (1993 North Carolina) and the third-toughest in NCAA Tournament history. Florida’s epic run featured four comeback wins, including rallying from 12 points down in the national championship game, closing the game on a 35-21 run over the final 16 minutes. The resilient Gators rallied from nine down in the Final Four to defeat top-seeded Auburn, from nine back with 3:00 to play in the Elite Eight vs. Texas Tech and from six down with nine minutes remaining in the second round vs. UConn.
 
The Gators entered the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed for just the third time in program history, joining the 2007 and 2014 squads as top-seed earners. Florida used the SEC Tournament to get hot, posting a dominant run becoming the first team to knock off three straight ranked opponents to win the event. The Gators averaged 95.0 points per game vs. #21 Missouri, #5 Alabama and #8 Tennessee, including an SEC Tournament-record 104 points in the semifinal win vs. Alabama.
 
Florida’s 27 regular season wins marked the second-most in program history (29, 2013-14), and the Gators posted a 14-4 record in an SEC that ranked among the best conferences in college basketball history. UF’s 13-0 start to the season was the team’s second-best start in program history, as the Gators navigated its nonconference slate undefeated (17-0, 2005-06).
 
Florida finished the season 8-2 in top-10 matchups, including wins in the final seven, after entering the season 6-16 all-time in such matchups. UF also doubled its all-time wins vs. the #1 team, routing top-ranked Tennessee in Gainesville and picking up a road win at Auburn.
 
The 73-43 win over the Vols was the largest defeat of a #1 team since UCLA’s 32-point win vs. Houston in the 1968 Final Four and the third-largest against a top-ranked team all-time. The Gators bounced back from an early 10-point deficit at Auburn, outscoring the Tigers 43-23 over the final 14 minutes of the first half and eventually leading by as many as 21. The pair of #1 wins were Florida’s first ever in regular season play. Coupled with the Auburn win, the Gators’ road win at #7 Alabama gave UF multiple top-10 road wins in a season for the first time.
 
The Gators’ +15.2 scoring margin for the season led the SEC and was the third-highest in program history, while UF led the nation and set program records in points (3,391), field goals (1,182) and rebounds (1,673), also setting the UF record in 3-point field goals (390). The Gators’ 84.8 points per game were also the second-highest ever at Florida, only behind the 2023-24 mark of 85.6.
 
In 2024-25, the Gators had their first ever first-team All-American in Walter Clayton Jr., who added Final Four and NCAA West Region Most Outstanding Player and SEC Tournament MVP honors. Will Richard – the first commit to Todd Golden, McCray and the new coaching staff in 2022 – earned Final Four and SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team honors, leading the Gators with 18 points and eight rebounds in the national championship game.
Clayton added first-team All-SEC recognition, while Alex Condon garnered third-team honors. The senior trio of Clayton, Alijah Martin and Richard were the highest-scoring trio in Florida history during the season, and Clayton posted a Florida-record 713 points.
 
In 2023-24, UF put together a 24-win campaign and a return to the NCAA Tournament. The Gators tallied four top-25 wins and had their highest-scoring team in program history with 85.7 points per game, ranking in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebounding percentage. Florida returned to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time in 10 years, and three Gators earned All-SEC honors in Walter Clayton Jr., Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel.
 
Safir came to UF alongside head coach Todd Golden and helped the Gators to a pair of top-25 wins and a postseason berth in his first season at UF. The 2022-23 campaign also included All-SEC honors for Colin Castleton and SEC All-Freshman recognition for Riley Kugel.
 
Prior to UF, Safir (pronounced like the gem, “sapphire”) served as an assistant coach on the San Francisco staff that led the Dons to a 24-10 season and the team’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998. Three players earned all-West Coast Conference honors during the 2021-22 campaign, and USF reached as high as No. 21 in KenPom ratings.
 
In his role at San Francisco, Safir oversaw all analytics and strategy for the Dons and played an integral role in scouting, recruiting and player development. In 2020, Safir co-authored a study with Ken Pomeroy titled “The guide to fouling when leading (or tied)” after USF opted to foul in non-traditional scenarios.
 
He initially joined the USF program in the summer of 2018 as director of basketball operations. Prior to joining the Dons, Safir served as the director of basketball operations at Columbia University in New York City from 2016 to 2018. He joined the Lions' staff in 2015 as the graduate manager and supported the team during its 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Championship.
 
Safir was a four-year letter winner at Vassar College, where he helped lead the Brewers to 19 wins and their first conference championship tournament appearance in school history. During his collegiate offseasons, he served as the head recruiting coordinator for Hoop Group Elite.
 
Safir earned his master’s in sports management at Columbia after completing his bachelor’s degree in American Studies at Vassar. He originally hails from Buffalo, N.Y.