It’s been a messy season in recent months due to the NCAA’s new “5 for 5” rules, which allow collegiate athletes to complete their journey at this level over 5 years.
With that rule comes a lot of changes: No more redshirting for a future star to sit and learn, and no more medical redshirts. It keeps everything pretty black-and-white from here on.
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Well, even though it seems like there can’t be much confusion or anything wrong with that, we have seen numerous players who just completed their fourth year in college, suing the NCAA in an attempt to get an extra year of eligibility. When the new rules were passed, they were supposed to go into effect next year, meaning this last group of seniors who just finished their careers would be gone.
Kentucky Basketball fans are very familiar with one name in the group of players suing for an extra year of eligibility. Denzel Aberdeen, a former Kentucky guard from last year’s roster, entered the transfer portal and returned to Florida to seek an extra year and play a “super senior,” or fifth year, of college back where he played his first three seasons. Aberdeen would have an immediate impact on the Gators and would start right away for them, so Florida has their fingers crossed with that situation.
Kentucky fans do need to become familiar with another name that is in that group suing for a fifth year. A small forward transfer named Cade Tyson. It was reported by Dylan Blake on Tuesday afternoon that Kentucky would be pursuing Tyson, a potential fifth-year wing who would play real minutes for the program in the 2026-27 season.
Tyson has had a true roller coaster career. He started out his college career at Belmont under coach Casey Alexander, who has now moved to Kansas State. Then, added to his journey by moving to play for coach Hubert Davis at North Carolina, and then played his final year at Minnesota under coach Niko Medved.
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Years one and two at Belmont went extremely well for Tyson. He averaged 13.6 points per game with just under five rebounds his freshman year, then went up to 16.2 points per game with six rebounds and two assists. He was also pretty efficient in his time there, shooting 49% from the field both years, 42% from 3-point range his freshman season, and 46.5% his sophomore season.
Then came the move to North Carolina in 2024-25. A year that, on the stat sheets, everyone involved was shocked by, and not in a good way. Tyson’s numbers plummeted in Chapel Hill, scoring 2.6 points per game and just one rebound per game. Shooting numbers went way down as well, averaging 40% from the field and 29% from 3-point range.
After that year, some viewed Tyson as used goods, but Minnesota took a chance on him. Everything went back up for him with his move to play for the Gophers. He would end his season averaging 19.6 points per game and grabbing five rebounds a game with a couple of assists as well. Shooting numbers also rose, and he finished the season shooting 50% from the field and 41% from 3-point range.
Now, seeking an extra year of eligibility, teams seem to be taking notice and would love to add him to their rosters late in the process if he becomes available, with Kentucky among the teams in the mix.
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Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman went to Twitter to share his opinion on the recent drama of the lawsuit filed by players and their agents for an extra fifth year of eligibility.
It is still up in the air whether these recent seniors will get an extra year, but Kentucky is certainly prepared to pursue and hopefully pick up Tyson to fill a spot on the 2026-27 roster if he becomes available to play college basketball again next season.
