Gators' Denzel Aberdeen Ruled Eligible for 2026-27 Season

Denzel Aberdeen was fighting for a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA.

Denzel Aberdeen was fighting for a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators finally have an answer for the time being on Denzel Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, who was fighting for a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA, has received his fifth year and will be eligible for the 2026-27 season. The decision comes after judge Charotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado on Friday granted a preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare all members of the 2022 recruiting class eligible.

Members of the class of 2022 who had exhausted its eligibility after the 2025-26 academic calendar, which includes Aberdeen, were not included in the NCAA's new five-for-five eligibility rules.

The NCAA could appeal the ruling, which could put Aberdeen's fifth year back in jeopardy. At the moment, however, he has his fifth year.

With today’s court ruling in Colorado, Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen will have a 5th year of eligibility for the 2026-27 season. https://t.co/K65C8nRmiC https://t.co/qRd2iCoR1o pic.twitter.com/0eoLEzCKn8

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) July 31, 2026

Aberdeen spent three seasons at Florida before transferring to Kentucky for his fourth season. He transferred back to Florida this offseason, after which both head coach Todd Golden and athletic director Scott Stricklin expressed confidence that Aberdeen would be eligible for the 2026-27 season.

Golden last month said Florida was "ready to take legal action" for Aberdeen in an interview with On3's Joe Tipton.

"This isn't a 27-year-old trying to play his eighth year in college at his sixth different school. This is a 22-year-old within his fifth-year clock coming back to get his degree," Golden said earlier in the offseason. "And I think it would be a really weird stance to try to fight him from playing. Now if he had played 30 games and played 15 minutes a night, we wouldn't be going down this path.

"But to me there's a common sense approach on Denzel that I think should be solved pretty quickly."

A large portion of Aberdeen's argument to receive a fifth year despite never redshirting stems from his true lack of playing time as a true freshman. During the 2022-23 season, Aberdeen played in just 12 games, averaging less than four minutes on the court. Golden argued that other sports, such as football, allow for players to play in four games while retaining a year of eligibility.

The NCAA's answer was to effectively end redshirtting by giving student-athletes five years of eligibility within a five-year window, beginning next season. This did not retroactively give outgoing seniors a fifth year, however, leading to many athletes around the country to take legal action.

With Aberdeen's eligibility now taken care of, at least for the time being, Florida's starting five is all but set. Aberdeen, who averaged a career-high 13.5 points per game at Kentucky last season, is expected to pair at guard with Boogie Fland, while third-years Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu return despite having garnered significant NBA Draft hype this offseason.

Florida is expected to be ranked as the preseason No. 1 team in the country when the polls are released later this offseason.

"It's national championship or bust for this team," Haugh said. "But we're mature enough, we have a really old group now to know that, so I think we're going to be really comfortable coming in this season."

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