Three days after entering the transfer portal, Denzel Aberdeen committed to Florida on Friday afternoon.
Aberdeen played for the Gators for three seasons, helping them win a national championship in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. He transferred to Kentucky for the 2025-26 campaign.
Aberdeen will need to get a waiver from the NCAA to play a fifth season, but he only played 41 minutes in 12 games as a true freshman.
In a post to his Instagram account, Aberdeen said, “I’m excited to announce that I’m planning to re-enroll at the University of Florida to finish my undergraduate degree. Thankful for the opportunity to finish my academic journey back home at the place where it started. Go Gators!”
Aberdeen started 35 of 36 games for Kentucky this past year, averaging 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. He made 43.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, 36.3 percent of his 3-pointers and 79.8 percent of his free throws.
Aberdeen had 16 points, one assist and one rebound in the Wildcats’ 89-84 overtime win over Santa Clara in the NCAA Tournament. He finished with 20 points, one rebound and one assist in an 82-63 loss to Iowa St. in the Round of 32.
Aberdeen drained 12-of-25 (48.0%) FGAs and 8-of-17 treys for UK in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
As a junior at UF during the 2024-25 season, Aberdeen started five times in 39 games. He averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 APG.
In the Gators’ 87-71 win over Maryland in the Sweet 16, Aberdeen had 12 points, one rebound and one assist in 19 minutes of playing time. He buried 5-of-7 FGAs.
In early-to-mid February when Walter Clayton and Alijah Martin were nursing injuries, Aberdeen scored 13, 10, 20 and 22 points during a four-game stretch when he was in the starting lineup. He made 8-of-12 FGAs and 5-of-7 from downtown in an 88-67 home win over South Carolina.
Aberdeen has played in 119 career games with 83 of those coming in a Florida uniform. He’s averaged only 18.7 minutes per game, producing 7.7 points, 1.7 assists and 1.6 RPG.
If Aberdeen is able to get a waiver, he’ll likely take over the starting position occupied by Xaivian Lee this past year.
FanDuel has the Gators with 13/1 odds to win the 2027 NCAA Tournament. Those are the third-shortest odds on the board behind Michigan (+600) and Duke (+750).