Otega Oweh: Kentucky has talent to be No. 1 team in the country

Otega Oweh‘s withdrawal from the 2025 NBA Draft to return for his senior season at Kentucky rounds out head coach Mark Pope’s roster-building efforts ahead of the 2025-26 college basketball season. The Wildcats have a number of new faces hitting Lexington, and Oweh has high hopes for what they can accomplish together.

“We have the talent to be the No. 1 team in the country,” Oweh told ESPN after his 2025 NBA Draft decision. “A lot of guys who are hungry to make that jump, and that intensity to go get national championship No. 9 for Kentucky. I’m excited to play with everyone. It will be a fun year.”

The ninth championship in Kentucky program history has been eluding the Wildcats for over a decade at this point. The championship team from 2012 feels like a lifetime ago, especially now that John Calipari has moved on from the program. Fans feel that it’s time for number nine, and Oweh wants to give the people what they want.

Oweh’s decision to return will see him slide into a veteran leadership role for the Wildcats. He’s one of the few returners from last season’s roster, and is expected to improve in year two under Mark Pope. After all, he averaged 16.2 points per game on a 49.2 percent clip to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as a junior. Oweh scored in double figures during the first 13 games to start SEC play, a league that sent 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament.

“My mindset is trying to be the alpha guy,” Oweh continued. “I need to be that voice that leads the team. I’m one of the few guys that was there last year. I know the feeling of losing in the Sweet 16. I plan to lead the group this year.”

Oweh will be one of four returning players, joining Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah and Collin Chandler, with experience in Mark Pope’s system at Kentucky. He’ll get to lead the group of newcomers comprised of incoming freshmen in Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson, as well as a hoard of transfers including Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate, Jayden Quaintance, Andrija Jelavic and Denzel Aberdeen. It’s a group that Pope is “out of my mind excited for.”

Kentucky’s 2025-26 roster now appears to be 12 players deep heading into the grueling months of the offseason. Where they’ll land in the eventual rotation remains to be seen, but Oweh figures to be the focal point of UK’s efforts on both sides of the ball this winter.