National champion UF to welcome back Kentucky and former Gator Denzel Aberdeen

Written by Fort Lauderdale Mortgage Syndicated User on June 19, 2025. Posted in College Sports, Florida Gators, Fort Lauderdale Mortgage, Fort Lauderdale Mortgage Rates, Latest Headlines, Sports.

GAINESVILLE — Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen will return to his ol’ stomping grounds with a new team when SEC rival Kentucky visits the O’Connell Center next season.

The Gators and the Wildcats will face each other home and away in 2025-26, highlighting the conference schedule released Wednesday.

Besides Kentucky, UF will host Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee. The Gators will visit Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

Dates, times and television assignments are yet to be determined.

Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen celebrates a 3-pointer against Tennessee during the Gators' 86-77 win in the SEC Tournament championship game. (George Walker IV/AP) — Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen celebrates a 3-pointer against Tennessee during the Gators’ 86-77 win in the SEC Tournament championship game. (George Walker IV/AP)

Kentucky did not face UF in Gainesville last season for the first time since 1963 but handed the Gators their first loss during a 106-100 overtime win Jan. 4 in Rupp Arena. Todd Golden’s squad would lose just three times the rest of the way to capture the school’s third national title while Kentucky fell to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 under first-year coach Mark Pope.

Kentucky will serve as UF’s rotating two-game SEC series next season while Tennessee rotates off. The scheduling shift sets the stage for Aberdeen’s return to the O’Dome the season after the Orlando native played a key role in UF’s national championship success.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Aberdeen appeared in 39 of 40 games primarily as a reserve and averaged 7.7 points and 19.8 minutes, positioning him for a prominent role during his final season in Gainesville. Instead, the former Dr. Phillips standout transferred to Kentucky.

Florida's Will Richard, bottom, drives around Kentucky's Andrew Carr, top, during the Gators' 106-100 overtime loss at Rupp Arena Jan. 4, 2025., in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/James Crisp) — Florida’s Will Richard, bottom, drives around Kentucky’s Andrew Carr, top, during the Gators’ 106-100 overtime loss at Rupp Arena Jan. 4, 2025., in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Golden would go on to bring in transfer guards Xaivian Lee of Princeton and Boogie Fland of Arkansas to spearhead the Gators’ rebuilt backcourt.

Aberdeen’s reception in Gainesville will be worth watching but likely to be among many storylines when the two SEC powers square off.

Florida and Kentucky played each other home and away every season from 1968-69 to 2023-24, a span when the Wildcats won or shared 25 SEC titles, including with Florida in 2001. The Gators have won or shared seven titles, dating to 1989.

When the SEC expanded from 14 to 16 teams in July 2024 and maintained 18 regular-season conference games, the league cut back from five to three home-and-home series, with just two of them permanent opponents — South Carolina and Georgia, in UF’s case.

The conference schedule lineup comes amid a cascade of non-scheduling news with UF, including a Nov. 16 matchup against Miami in Jacksonville. A source confirmed reports the Gators and Hurricanes square off for the first time since a 78-58 Florida win in the 2019 Charleston (S.C.) Classic.

The Gators will open next season against national power Arizona Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, face 2023 and 2024 national champion UConn Nov. 9 in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City’s Madison Square Garden and visit five-time national champion Duke on Dec. 2.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at moc.lenitnesodnalro@nospmohtge

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