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By Mallory Mattingly
NCAA National Championship winners Will Richard and Isaiah Brown relied on their faith to secure the title for the Florida Gators.
On Monday night, the Gators beat the Houston Cougars 65-63 to win the title.
Richard, who led his team in many defensive plays as well as securing 18 points and eight rebounds, per Sports Spectrum, looked to God’s strength to keep going.
“We don’t have any quit, and I feel like as long as there’s time on the clock, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to win as long as we just stay the course and keep taking it possession by possession,” he told the media after the game. “So I just like our resiliency and how we fought through adversity throughout the game.”
Later that night, Richard posted on X, “God the Greatest!! This for y’all Gator Nation.”
God the Greatest !! This for y’all Gator Nation🏆🧡💙
— Will Richard (@willrxch) April 8, 2025
He has often shared about his faith this season and throughout the March Madness tournament.
“Just knowing that God can do exceedingly and abundantly above anything that you ever asked or thought about,” he said in a press conference. “So just knowing that when you have God on your side, anything is possible. It’s just a confidence and boldness just knowing that.”
In 2022, Richard spoke of where his faith began to grow. Prior to transferring to Florida, he played at Belmont Abbey, a private Catholic college in North Carolina.
“I would say my faith really got stronger my freshman year of college because I was on my own so I couldn’t just go to church with my parents every week,” he told His Huddle in 2022. “I had to take the time out myself to spend time with God. Learning how to make time on my own really benefited me and allowed me to get closer to Him.”
Isaiah Brown, another faith-filled Gator, also looked to his faith this season, talking with the “Access The Walk” podcast about his Mark 9:23 tattoo on his wrist.
The verse reads, “Everything is possible for the one who believes.”
“At first I told myself I’m not getting any tattoos. I don’t want to ink my body up because, you know, it’s going to be there forever,” the 6’4” guard said on the show. “Juggling basketball and academics at a college level–high school is way different. This is like way different. Like I have to be there 24/7 for basketball, and at the same time, I have to keep up with school. It’s difficult.”
“So, I got this as motivation that whatever I put my mind to I basically accomplish,” Brown continued. “So, I got this as a reminder to never forget that I can do anything if I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.”
Richard and Brown used their faith in God and their talents to lead their team to its third-ever National Championship title. The last time Florida Gators reached the title game was in 2007.
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