The NCAA’s new five-for-five eligibility model was supposed to bring some order to college sports. Five years, five seasons, and that’s your window to play, develop and cash in. Simple enough.
But the rule book has already found a way to trip over itself. By not grandfathering athletes who are entering their fifth year in 2026-27, the NCAA has opened the door to a messier and less balanced system than the one it was trying to fix.
That’s why Denzel Aberdeen should be allowed a fifth year at Florida.
Aberdeen, a 6-foot-5 guard, transferred back to the Gators from Kentucky last April. He’s enrolled in summer classes, working toward finishing his undergraduate degree and spending the summer in workouts with UF. If he gets the extra year in 2026-27, he would be a grad transfer.
The case for Aberdeen is hard to miss when other players are already being treated differently. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will be a sixth-year senior when he plays at The Swamp this September. So why should Aberdeen, who played only 41 minutes over 12 games as a true freshman in 2022-23, be denied a fifth season?
UCF forward Jamicheal Stillwell is already part of a class-action lawsuit in Cobb County, Georgia, one of 16 student-athletes seeking fifth-year eligibility from the NCAA in 2026-27. Aberdeen has not filed suit yet, but that could be his next move if the NCAA turns down his waiver request. Florida coach Todd Golden has said he will support Aberdeen through any legal fight over his eligibility.
There’s also a bigger point here about where college sports has landed. Schools want rules, except when those rules start to pinch them. The sport has already been turned upside down this decade, beginning with the COVID year in 2019-20 and continuing as college athletics has become more of a money game than an educational one.
The old stigma around spending five or six years in school without turning pro has faded. If roster spots are the concern, then transfer waivers should be the answer, giving those players a chance to find a new place to land.
Florida has already held a spot for Aberdeen, and that makes sense. After three seasons coming off the bench for the Gators, he showed at Kentucky that he could handle a starting role in the SEC. Last season, he averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
He also showed he could handle pressure. In a tight SEC Tournament win over Missouri, Aberdeen knocked down a go-ahead basket with 22.5 seconds left in an eventual 78-72 victory. That kind of poise matters for a Florida team that struggled in close games last season, going 2-5 in games decided by five points or less in 2025-26.
And then there’s the homecoming angle. Aberdeen, a former Dr.
Phillips High standout from Orlando, was part of Florida’s 2024-25 national championship run and hit the final free throw in the Gators’ 65-63 win over Houston in the title game. Sometimes the fit is better the second time around.
He wouldn’t be the first player to figure out that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere, even when the money is better. Meechie Johnson went from South Carolina to Ohio State and back to South Carolina. Jacob Dar followed a similar path, going from Rice to Seton Hall and then back to Rice to play for former Florida assistant and current Rice coach Rob Lanier.
Aberdeen should get the chance to chase another ring and keep working toward his degree. Let him play, NCAA, and save the crackdown for the sixth- and seventh-year guys.
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