This Kentucky Wildcat is set to have a big season in Lexington.

One player on this 2025-26 Kentucky basketball team who could be the biggest surprise is Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen. Last season with the National Champion Florida Gators, Aberdeen was a great piece off the bench who averaged 7.7 points per game.

Aberdeen was playing behind the best backcourt in college basketball, so minutes were tough to come by, but his defense was able to keep the 6’5 guard on the floor.

Now, Aberdeen has made the move over to Lexington, where he will stay in the SEC, but this season play for Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats. The reason Kentucky fans are such big believers in Aberdeen is because Florida fans were devastated to see him leave, as they felt he was going to put up big numbers this season in a larger role in Gainesville.

An article this morning from David Connelly of Sports Grid listed ten potential breakout players in college basketball, and Aberdeen was one of the names on this list.

Here is what Connelly had to say about Aberdeen and why he could break out: “Last season, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope referred to former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen as ‘terrifying’.

Aberdeen proved that in only 19.7 points per game, he is more than capable of making a large impact for an elite basketball team on both ends of the floor. This season, Aberdeen will more than likely be starting for the Wildcats and will have more of a chance to show off his ability to score.