Florida Gators top transfer portal addition has his future cast in serious doubt with new NCAA rule
After the Florida Gators were able to retain their four of their five starters on basketball, their biggest addition could be in jeopardy.
The Florida Gators basketball team has had themselves a great week. Not only did head coach Todd Golden end up getting center Rueben Chinyelu to return to school this week, it came after guard Boogie Fland, forward Thomas Haugh, and forward Alex Condon did the same.
After being a No. 1 seed the year after winning the National Championship in 2025, the Gators lost a heartbreaker by one to Iowa in the Round of 32. One of the biggest issues on the team was the lack of perimiter shooting. They addressed that by bringing back Kentucky Wildcats guard Denzel Aberdeen via the transfer portal. The roster feels set, but there could be a wrench thrown into it.
Denzel Aberdeen’s eligibility could come into question
A new NCAA rule could have a massive eligibility impact on Aberdeen’s eligibility. The new proposed rule is age-based allowing athletes to have five years of competition within a five-year window of either the academic year after they graduate high school or they turn 19.
Being that Aberdeen has played four seasons already, it theoretically shouldn’t impact him. However, this rule won’t impact someone who has their eligibility finished by the end of the 2025-2026 calendar year. Those individuals won’t get extra eligibility.
That creates an interesting dilemma for Aberdeen that relates to whether or not he will be given a redshirt year for his freshman season where he played in just 12 games. That could prove to be difficult for Aberdeen, and it could, as Darren Heitner mentions above, mean legal action. 12 games could prove to be a big deal for granting a redshirt.
We don’t know whether or not Aberdeen will get eligibility, but this rule adds a really intriguing element to the discussion. Only time will tell whether or not it will be impactful, but this isn’t a nothing burger.