Denzel Aberdeen started his college career at Florida and played his first three seasons in Gainesville. He was on the Florida national championship team in 2025, but decided to transfer to Kentucky last year. On Friday, Aberdeen filed for an injunction so that he can play a fifth season back for Todd Golden at Florida.
Here’s a statement from Aberdeen’s attorney, Jesse Panuccio:
“Denzel Aberdeen, a senior at Florida, should be allowed to compete as a student-athlete under the NCAA’s 5-in-5 rule. But the NCAA has announced an unwritten exception to its rule that strips Class of 2022 students from this policy, even though they competed for years against fifth-, sixth-, and sometimes seventh-year seniors who received Covid-era eligibility waivers. The NCAA’s decision violates its contractual commitment to fairness to all student-athletes, and we have sued to vindicate Aberdeen’s rights and get him back on the court as he finishes his degree at UF.”
Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen has filed for a temporary injunction, his attorney Jesse Panuccio told @thefieldof68.
Aberdeen played 12 games as a freshman at Florida, and a total of 40 minutes. He was on the Gators national title team before spending last season at Kentucky -…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 11, 2026
In his first season at Florida, he played in 12 games and was on the floor for only 40 minutes. Last year, he had his best statistical year, as he averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds while starting 35 out of 36 games.
Aberdeen is the latest player across the country to fight for eligibility citing the NCAA’s new 5-in-5 rule. The push for a 5th year has been a major talking point in college football recently, but this was also going on last season in college basketball with players like Charles Bediako of Alabama and James Nnaji at Baylor who had ties to NBA teams. Aberdeen, of course, has not signed a professional contract.
