As he continues to push for a fifth year of eligibility, Denzel Aberdeen has officially filed for a temporary injunction against the NCAA.
Aberdeen’s attorney, Jesse Panuccio, provided a statement to The Field of 68 regarding the eligibility of the former Florida Gator and Kentucky Wildcat guard.
“Denzel Aberdeen, a senior at Florida, should be allowed to compete as a student-athlete under the NCAA’s 5-in-5 rule,” Panuccio said. “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.”
Aberdeen first stated his intention to return to Florida, where he spent his first three years of college, on Apr. 10. Then, on July 31, Aberdeen’s original waiver for a fifth year at Florida was set to be approved following a class-wide ruling by Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado that ordered the NCAA to declare all Class of 2022 athletes who finished their fourth season this past spring eligible for another year.
However, the saga took another turn weeks later when the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in favor of halting the U.S. District Court of Colorado's ruling. Now, Aberdeen has made his intention clear: he isn’t backing down, and he and his representatives feel he has a fair argument to suit up for the 2026-27 season.
Florida head coach Todd Golden agrees.
“It’s just a common-sense situation,” Golden said April 22. “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. It would be a really weird stance to try to fight him from playing.”
In his first two seasons with Florida, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged less than 10 minutes per game. However, in 2024-25, the Orlando native averaged 7.7 points on 19.7 minutes per game while contributing to the Gators’ national championship victory.
Last season, Aberdeen suited up for Kentucky, where he averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 30.6 minutes per game.
While awaiting any concrete legal decision, Aberdeen has been involved in Florida team scrimmages and practices, including UF’s open scrimmage Aug. 5.
Florida, a projected top team in the nation with or without Aberdeen to start the season, opens play against the Miami Hurricanes in Tampa Nov. 2.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
