Walter Clayton Jr., the Florida Gators’ star guard who led his team to the 2025 Final Four with a 30-point explosion against Texas Tech, comes from a family where athletics run deep. His parents, Walter Clayton Sr. and Cherie Quarg, both played sports at a high level, passing down their competitive genes to their son.
Born on March 6, 2003, in Sebring, Florida, Clayton Jr. grew up in Lake Wales, where his mom and dad played a huge role in shaping his basketball career. His father, Walter Sr., was a multi-sport athlete who played both basketball and football in college, while his mother, Cherie, was a standout in basketball and softball during her high school days. The family’s love for sports wasn’t just background noise, it was the foundation of Clayton Jr.’s rise to becoming one of the most electrifying players in college basketball.
Meet Walter Clayton Jr.’s Parents: Cherie Quarg & Walter Clayton Sr.’s Athletic Legacy
The Clayton household was all about competition, and Walter Sr. made sure his son earned every bucket. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Cherie recalled how father and son would go head-to-head on their neighborhood court, drawing crowds who came to watch the intense one-on-one battles. “His dad would go in on him down there. People would come and sit and watch them go head-to-head with each other,” she said. Those gritty sessions paid off. By the time Clayton Jr. was in high school, he was already turning heads, averaging 17.5 points as a sophomore at Lake Wales before transferring to Bartow High, where he won a Florida Class 6A state championship.
But basketball wasn’t even his first love, football was. Thanks to his childhood friend Gervon Dexter, Clayton Jr. picked up the sport as a freshman and quickly attracted offers from powerhouse programs like Florida, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. Still, his guardians, especially his mom, encouraged him to stick with basketball, a decision that would eventually land him at Iona and later Florida, where he became a consensus First-Team All-American in 2025.
Cherie Quarg wasn’t just a supportive figure on the sidelines, she was a former athlete herself, and she knew exactly how to push her son. Though details about her playing career are scarce, her influence on Clayton Jr.’s work ethic is undeniable. When he considered switching from football to basketball full-time in high school, she was the one who reassured him it was the right move. Later, when he entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Iona, where he won MAAC Player of the Year in 2023, she backed his choice to join the Florida Gators instead of following his former coach, Rick Pitino, to St. John’s.
Family was the deciding factor. Clayton Jr. wanted to be closer to his loved ones, including his longtime girlfriend, Tatiyana Burney, and their newborn daughter, Leilani Leigh Clayton, who was born on December 11, 2023. “She is depending on me to provide for her,” he said, calling Leilani his “new why.” The decision to prioritize family over prestige paid off in a big way. In his first season with the Gators, he averaged 17.6 points and led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in three years. By his senior year, he was dropping 30-point games in the Elite Eight and earning SEC Tournament MVP honors.
The Clayton family’s support didn’t stop at Cherie and Walter Sr. The basketball star has two younger sisters, Asia Harris and Giselle Clayton, who’ve kept a low profile but have been part of his journey. Asia is a student at the University of Kansas, and while Giselle’s pursuits aren’t as public, the tight-knit dynamic is clear. When Clayton Jr. celebrated Senior Day with the Gators in 2025, the whole crew was there, including his sisters, Tatiyana, and baby Leilani, all grinning in matching Florida gear. It was a full-circle moment for a kid who grew up playing pickup games with his dad and now had his own family cheering him on as he prepared for the NBA Draft.
Even beyond basketball, the Claytons are a story of perseverance and loyalty. Cherie remarried in April 2023, tying the knot with Tramell Foster, but the family’s bond with Walter Jr. never wavered. When he struggled with the pressures of fatherhood and stardom, his older folks were his sounding board. “I probably still got some more maturing to do, so me and Leilani [are] kind of growing together right now,” he admitted.
That honesty, that willingness to lean on his roots, is what makes Walter Clayton Jr.’s story so relatable. He’s not just a basketball phenom, he’s a guy who credits his parents for his toughness, his girlfriend for keeping him grounded, and his daughter for giving him purpose.
