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In less than two weeks after the Florida Gators won the national championship, they lost a player who was expected to play a major role for the 2025-26 season. Denzel Aberdeen, a key backup guard for Florida during their title run, opted to hit the transfer portal and commit to Kentucky. There wasn’t much known about why he made the decision, until recently.
For Denzel Aberdeen, the reason to transfer to Kentucky via the portal was quite simple and person, as per Sam Gillenwater of On3 Sports.
“It was pretty much between me and my family,” Aberdeen said.
That was all he had to say on the matter. A native of Orlando, Aberdeen had a prime opportunity to be the lead guard for Florida this upcoming season. The Gators lost three of their top guards from last season to the NBA in Walter Clayton Jr. (Utah Jazz), Will Richard (Golden State Warriors) and Alijah Martin (Toronto Raptors). Clayton was selected in the first round of the draft while Richard and Martin were second round picks.
As far as his transfer to Kentucky, Aberdeen said he’s ready to play for the Wildcats.
“I’m just happy for Kentucky for reaching out and giving me a chance to play here and try to get a national championship here,” Aberdeen said. “Things happen in life, but, I mean it’s all in God’s plans.”
This past season, Aberdeen appeared in 39 games for the Gators, including five starts, at a little over 19 minutes per game. He averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists with splits of 41.8 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from the three-point line and 70.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Aberdeen joins a group of six potential impact players from the transfer portal to boost the Wildcats’ 2025-26 roster. That group also includes Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, Reece Potter, Kam Williams and Mouhamed Dioubate.
