Florida basketball senior guard Denzel Aberdeen is taking his case to return to the basketball court to the judicial courts.

Aberdeen has filed a temporary injunction for a fifth season of eligibility to play for the Florida Gators, according to a report from the Field of 68.

“Denzel Aberdeen, a senior at Florida, should be allowed to compete as a student-athlete under the NCAA’s 5-in-5 rule,” Aberdeen's attorney, Jesse Panuccio, said in a statement provided to the Field of 68. “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.”

As a member of the Class of 2022, Aberdeen wasn't grandfathered into the NCAA's new 5-for-5 rule, which allows for college athletes to play for five seasons within five years of eligibility.

On July 31, a Colorado court ruling by U.S. District Court judge Charlotte Sweeney (Tyson, Wisne v NCAA) granted an extra year of eligibility to Aberdeen and every athlete in the 2022 class without requiring an NCAA waiver. But on August 22, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay in the Wisne ruling, which now places the onus back on athletes to fight for their NCAA eligibility in state courts.

Florida basketball coach Todd Golden has come out in support of Aberdeen fighting for fifth year of eligibility. Aberdeen re-committed to the Gators in April and has been practicing with the team in summer and fall workouts.

"Nobody's lost yet," Golden said. "Now the injunction in Colorado was stayed, but nobody's lost. Everybody in these individual state cases have all won, and I still think Denzel is a much better case than all the other random four-for-fours that are trying to come back once the rule was in place.

"Denzel re-enrolled in the spring. Denzel is working towards his degree. Denzel him coming to the team didn't bump anybody off the team. So there's a lot of things that we did at the beginning, to not have any of these issues that the NCAA is claiming that they're worried about."

Aberdeen was seeking a waiver from the NCAA based on the fact he played just 41 minutes over 12 games a true freshman during the 2022-23 season.

"People have gotten relief on only playing minutes in games," Golden said. "So when you piece it together, I can't see any way that they won't allow him to, or at least a state judge in Florida would look at it and be like, this kid's getting his degree. He's within the age framework that they just passed, that rule is already passed in DII.

"This isn't a 25-year-old kid that's made you know 10 million dollars just trying to come back. So, I still feel as good about it as I did before. We're just gonna have to work a little harder to do it."

How Denzel Aberdeen's return would impact Florida basketball

A 6-foot-5 combo guard, Aberdeen played the first three seasons of his career at Florida, winning a national championship ring for the Gators in 2024-25 as a key contributor off the bench (7.7 ppg, 1.4 apg in 39 games).

Aberdeen then transferred to Kentucky for his senior season in 2025-26, where he enjoyed a breakout senior season for the Wildcats, averaging 13.5 points and 3.4 assists while starting 35 of 36 games. A former Dr. Phillips High standout, Aberdeen returned to UF to complete his undergraduate degree last spring and worked out with the Gators over the summer.

If eligible, Aberdeen would team with returning point guard Boogie Fland to form one of the most dynamic and productive starting backcourts in the SEC. Paired with the returning frontcourt of All-American forward Thomas Haugh, All-SEC forward Alex Condon and center and reigning Naismith defensive player of the year Rueben Chinyelu, Florida will enter the 2026-27 as one of the top-ranked teams in the country with the goal of winning a second national title in three years. Last season, as a No. 1 seed, Florida was upset by 9-seed Iowa in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball guard Denzel Aberdeen files injunction for fifth season