The landscape of college basketball has changed completely in the last couple of years, and one of the key issues this season is the potential extra eligibility for the class of 2022. The NCAA announced plans to give student athletes a fifth year of eligibility, and several players who just completed a fourth year have won court injunctions granting them a fifth year. One such player is returning Florida Gators guard Denzel Aberdeen who was recently made eligible via court ruling, as per Zach Alboverdi of On3.

Denzel Aberdeen was granted a fifth year of eligibility on Tuesday morning when a Florida judge issued a temporary ruling against the NCAA, paving the way for him to return to the program where he began his college career. Aberdeen played his first three seasons of college basketball with the Gators before transferring to Kentucky in what was supposed to be his final year of eligibility.

The NCAA had previously denied Aberdeen’s request for a fifth year of college basketball eligibility. Aberdeen played a key role during Florida’s national championship run in 2024-25. That season, he came off the bench at a little over 19 minutes per game, and averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line.

Article Continues Below

Last year at Kentucky was the first time he had seized a full-time starting role, and he responded with a career-year. He averaged a career-best 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists with splits of 43.3 percent shooting from the field, 36.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 79.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

This season, the Gators will be entering the program’s fifth under head coach Todd Golden. Florida has reached the NCAA Tournament in three of his first four seasons, and last year they were eliminated in the round of 32.