Florida cements status as clear preseason No. 1 after Denzel Aberdeen is cleared to play for 2026-27 season

The Gators are expected to open the season as the preseason No. 1 team in the polls next month, ahead of Duke and Illinois

Sep 29, 2026 at 2:47 pm ET • 3 min read

Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA on Tuesday, clearing the way for him to suit up for the Gators for the 2026-27 season. Aberdeen, who transferred from Kentucky back to Florida earlier this spring in hopes of being granted a fifth year of eligibility, will join a loaded Gators roster that is expected to be the preseason top-ranked team in the polls.

"We're pleased with today's ruling, and we're especially happy for Denzel," Florida coach Todd Golden said in a statement.

The first AP Top 25 poll of the season will be released sometime next month. Florida is projected to open the season as the preseason No. 1 team for the first time since 2006, the year the Gators returned their entire starting lineup after winning the program's first national title.

This will be Aberdeen's second stint in Gainesville. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard was a key reserve on Florida's 2024-25 team that defeated Houston in the national title game. Aberdeen appeared in 39 games that season (five starts) and averaged 7.7 points. Following that season, Aberdeen transferred within the conference to Kentucky, where he started 35 games and averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4. assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three, all career-best numbers.

The 2025-26 campaign at Kentucky was Aberdeen's first year as a full-time starter at the college level.

Part of Aberdeen's argument for a fifth year of eligibility stemmed from playing only 41 total minutes across 12 games during his freshman season at Florida. 

Aberdeen is among dozens of players who have been fighting for a fifth year of eligibility in the courts. With the new age-based eligibility model the NCAA implemented earlier this summer, the high school class of 2022 was not grandfathered in. Although some players in different states, such as California, have successfully sued to become temporarily eligible, others have seen their fifth year of eligibility come and go after the NCAA appealed the rulings.

With Aberdeen cleared to play, for now, here is why his addition will solidify the Gators as the preseason top-ranked team.

Why Florida and not Duke or Illinois will be the preseason No. 1

Florida is the consensus favorite (+550 on FanDuel Sportsbook) to win the 2027 national title. The reason the Gators are the favorite, ahead of the likes of Duke, Illinois and UConn, among others, is the experience, depth and talent the program was able to bring back this offseason. 

It all starts with star forward Thomas Haugh, a projected first-team All-American forward, who bypassed the 2026 NBA Draft, where he would've been a surefire first-round pick, to return to school. Haugh and Aberdeen were key reserves on Florida's national title team.

Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu — the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year — will make up Florida's starting frontcourt for the third consecutive season. When Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard departed the Florida program following the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign, the Gators elected to go with a jumbo frontcourt of Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu the following season.

Another reason why the Aberdeen injunction is significant: It will allow reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year Urban Klavzar to come off the bench. Klavzar was elite in his role as a reserve, averaging 9.6 points in 20.7 minutes per game. Klavzar knocked down 71 3-pointers last season in 35 games off the bench, which was the most on the team.

Duke and Illinois were among the teams in the sport with the highest retention, but Florida's elite frontcourt play, paired with two high-level guards in Aberdeen and Boogie Fland, will make the Gators the team to beat this season. Getting Aberdeen back is just the cherry on top.