RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesGAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida shooting guard Denzel Aberdeen cleared a major hurdle in his bid for a fifth-year of eligibility, but he likely faces another before being permitted to take the court for the Gators this season.
A Colorado court ruling Friday granted an extra year of eligibility to Aberdeen and every athlete in the 2022 class without requiring an NCAA waiver. But the class-wide preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court judge Charlotte Sweeney is not a final judgment, leaving Aberdeen’s eligibility in limbo unless the NCAA either loses an appeal or drops its legal challenge.
NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby issued a statement Saturday that the governing body will appeal Sweeney’s ruling. Bearby called the decision “egregiously wrong.”
Aberdeen returned to Florida after spending last season at rival Kentucky, expecting to receive a waiver for a fifth season of eligibility.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Orlando native has completed four seasons of college basketball but saw limited action as a true freshman, appearing in just 12 games of 36 games and logging 41 minutes total minutes during coach Todd Golden’s first season in Gainesville. He played three or fewer minutes in eight appearances and saw his most extensive action in his final two games, playing nine minutes in March against LSU and eight during a season-ending loss to UCF in the NIT.
Despite Aberdeen’s limited freshman role, longtime NCAA redshirt rules did not allow players to appear in any games while preserving a season of eligibility. But Aberdeen, 22, and Golden have argued the NCAA should grant him a fifth year because the governing body had already been moving toward an age-based eligibility model, a change that was formally adopted in June.
Under the new policy, Division I athletes now have up to five years of eligibility if they enroll in college no later than the academic year following their 19th birthday. The rule eliminates season-of-competition limits, redshirt regulations and eligibility-extension waivers.
The NCAA, however, has maintained the new model does not apply retroactively to players in the 2022 class, a position questioned by players and coaches, including Golden.
“He’s within his five-year clock,” Golden said April 22. “He came back here with the goal of graduating. He already has his academic plan mapped out. So, he would graduate in his time on campus, which I think is a huge part of it, if we’re really focusing on the student-athlete experience and that being important.”
Golden also pointed to football’s previous redshirt rule, which allowed players to appear in up to four of the team’s 12 regular-season games during a season and redshirt — the same percentage of games Aberdeen played as a freshman.
“Why are those two sports not equitable in regards to their rules?” Golden said. “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.”
Sweeney’s ruling undercuts the NCAA’s plan to have the so-called “five-for-five” rule set to begin with athletes who enroll in college in the fall of 2027. Her decision came hours after a Tennessee court granted former Vanderbilt guard Jalen Washington and 18 other basketball players a fifth season of eligibility.
Sweeney wrote that the athletes “will suffer irreparable harm without” the injunction.
The ruling allows hundred of athletes to pursue a fifth season, potentially including undrafted players in NFL training camps who choose to return to college.
The transfer portal will reopen Monday through Aug. 10 for athletes covered by the injunction.
NCAA President Charlie Baker warned the ruling could create significant roster upheaval and renewed his call for congressional action.
In a statement Friday, Baker urged Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, which would provide the NCAA with antitrust protection on eligibility issues.
“Today’s rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it’s time to pass this bill,” Baker said in a statement Friday.
Aberdeen and the Gators will be watching closely. He is projected to start for one of the nation’s top teams.
A key reserve for Golden’s 2025 national title team, Aberdeen averaged 7.7 points and 19.8 minutes while providing tenacious defense to supplement the stellar backcourt of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.
Unable to agree on NIL compensation after the season, he transferred to Kentucky, the Gators’ longtime SEC rival.
Aberdeen averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 30.6 minutes for the Wildcats, while shooting 43.3% from the field — 36.3% from 3-point range. During Kentucky’s 22-14 season, he lost three times to the Gators.
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