Denzel Aberdeen set to receive fifth year after judicial ruling

A U.S. District Court of Colorado judge granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that made all high school Class of 2022 athletes with exhausted eligibility eligible for the spring.

Boise State College of Business and Economics associate professor Sam Ehrlich, an ex-lawyer who writes about collegiate sports law and tracks litigation involving college sports, broke the news on Friday via his social media account.

The injunction means that Florida point guard Denzel Aberdeen’s waiver for a fifth year should be granted, unless the NCAA appeals the ruling. Despite going ahead with the new five-for-five rules, athletes from the class of 2022, such as Aberdeen, were not included.

BREAKING: Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado has granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare eligible *all* HS class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility this spring.

— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) July 31, 2026

Aberdeen, who played just 41 minutes as a freshman, transferred back to Florida to finish his undergraduate degree after spending what would have been his senior year with the Kentucky Wildcats.

Florida head coach Todd Golden has fervently supported Aberdeen’s quest for eligibility, calling it a “common-sense situation,” back in April.

“This isn’t a 27-year-old trying to play his eighth year in college at his sixth different school,” Golden said. “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 prevent him from playing.”

As mentioned above, Aberdeen started his career with Florida in the 2022-23 season, scoring 19 points across 12 appearances and combined total of 41 minutes.

He came off the bench regularly as a sophomore, appearing in 32 games while averaging 3.3 points and 0.9 rebounds. He was a key member of the 2024-25 championship team, serving as the primary guard of the bench behind starters and Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard — all three of whom are now in the NBA. Aberdeen averaged 7.7 points and 1.7 rebounds over 39 games with 10 double-figure scoring appearances.

Aberdeen spent last season with Kentucky, starting 35 of the squad’s 36 games. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while setting career highs in nearly every offensive category. He scored 20 points in Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament game agaisnt Iowa State and had 16 points in the tournament opener.

With Aberdeen back in Gainesville, he’s set to replace Xaivian Lee as the team’s point guard. Florida’s other four starters — Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland and Thomas Haugh — are all returning members of the starting lineup.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Denzel Aberdeen set to receive fifth year after judicial ruling