Denzel Aberdeen is transferring from Florida to Kentucky.
The former Gator played a pivotal role for the 2025 NCAA Tournament champions. His entry into the portal this past Friday was a big surprise in Gainesville, where he was poised to move into the starting lineup and take on a larger role after coming off the bench for three seasons.
According to Gators Online, the rising senior turned down a seven-figure deal to stay at UF. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported that Aberdeen was looking for a $2 million NIL package.
Aberdeen started five of 39 games for Florida, logging an average of 19.7 minutes per game. He averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Aberdeen hit 41.8 percent of his field-goal attempts, 35.0 percent of his 3-pointers and 70.8 percent of his free throws.
During a four-game stretch in February when Aberdeen was made his first career starts due to injuries to Walter Clayton and Alijah Martin, he scored 13, 10, 20 and 22 points. In his 22-point effort that led the Gators to an 88-67 win over South Carolina, Aberdeen had three assists without a turnover and buried 8-of-12 FGAs and 5-of-7 treys.
Aberdeen enjoyed his breakout performance in the 2024 SEC Tournament semifinals when he sparked UF to a 95-90 win over Texas A&M after it trailed by 18 points. He produced 20 points and four steals, draining 6-of-9 FGAs, 4-of-5 launches from 3-point range and all four of his FTAs.
In UF’s 87-71 spread-covering win over Maryland in Sweet 16, Aberdeen had 12 points in 19 minutes of action. He buried 5-of-7 FGAs against the Terrapins.
The 6-foot-5 Aberdeen can play point guard or off the ball. He developed into one of the SEC’s top perimeter defenders during his junior campaign.
Mark Pope’s team has two roster spots remaining if Otega Oweh, who is testing the NBA waters, returns to Lexington after going through the draft process. In addition to Aberdeen, the Wildcats have added Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), Jayden Quaintance (Arizona St.) and Andrija Jelavic (overseas) from the portal.
UK also has two incoming freshmen in four-star guard Jasper Johnson and four-star forward Malachi Moreno. The ‘Cats have four returning players in Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Kentucky has the nation’s #2 overall recruiting class. Quaintance is a five-star transfer, while the four other portal imports have four-star labels.
FanDuel has Kentucky with 20/1 odds to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Those are tied for the eighth-shortest odds on the board.