One of the biggest question marks for the 2026-27 Florida men’s basketball roster could be removed after a class-wide preliminary injunction Friday.
Colorado U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney ordered the NCAA to declare all college athletes from the high school Class of 2022 eligible for the upcoming school year, clearing the way for Denzel Aberdeen to suit up for the Gators in his fifth year of eligibility this upcoming season — at least for now.
The decision comes over a month after the NCAA established its 5-year eligibility clock model on June 23, which prevented athletes who exhausted their eligibility during the 2025-26 academic year, like Aberdeen, another year and eliminated redshirts. The transfer portal will reopen Monday and close Aug. 10 for the players included in the injunction.
However, the NCAA can appeal Sweeney’s temporary ruling, with NCAA president Charlie Baker issuing a statement directed at Congress.
“Without targeted intervention from Congress, college sports cannot set nationwide rules everyone can play by and without Congress, failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships,” Baker said. “It is long past time leaders across college sports call for the immediate passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act — a bill supported by student-athlete leaders, Democrats, Republicans and NCAA schools from all three divisions.
“Today’s rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it’s time to pass this bill.”
The Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan Senate bill, would create a federal framework for eligibility and transfer rules while shielding the NCAA from lawsuits like the one that led to Sweeney’s ruling. Separately, the legislation had stalled in the Senate, but the SEC and Big Ten presidents and chancellors voted Friday night to support the legislation, a reversal first reported by ESPN. The bill now has a real chance at a Senate vote as soon as next week. It would still need House approval, though, and floor time is limited before Congress’s August recess.
Aberdeen spent three seasons with Florida before transferring to Kentucky for his senior season. He announced his return to Florida on April 10 with the intent of completing his undergraduate degree.
Aberdeen has full support from the Gators amid his pursuit for a fifth year on the court.
“We’re ready to take legal action if needed,” Golden said in an interview with On3’s Joe Tipton. “Our hope is that there’s some common sense that comes into play before that, and they look at a guy that’s 22 years old, so way younger than a lot of these guys that are still playing in college [who] is back working for his undergraduate degree within his five-year clock.”
Aberdeen’s case for a fifth year rested on the limited floor time he saw during his freshman season at Florida, playing a combined 41 minutes across 12 games, averaging 3.4 minutes per game.
During Florida’s 2025 NCAA championship season, Aberdeen served the top reserve role in the Gators’ backcourt, averaging 19.8 minutes and 7.7 points per game.
He took a larger role with the Wildcats, starting in 35 of 36 games while averaging 13.5 points and 30.6 minutes per game. Aberdeen also remained prominent in the NCAA tournament, playing a career-high 38 minutes in Kentucky’s first-round 89-84 overtime victory over Santa Clara March 20, and shooting 47.1% from beyond the arc.
Aberdeen enters Gainesville as a stronger shooter from the arc, improving his 3-point shooting percentage to 36.3% last season, which could help Florida, which shot 31.2% last season.
While there are still questions on whether the ruling will stand, Golden remains clear on his intent to get Aberdeen back on the court.
“There’s a lot of things that are going his way,” Golden said. “So, we’ll do what we need to do to make sure he’s supported properly.”
