Lance Ware reunites with KT Turner at UT Arlington

Photo of Lance Ware by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

Lance Ware will spend his final college season in the Lone Star State.

On Tuesday, the UT Arlington men’s basketball program announced that Ware has joined the team for the 2024-25 season. The former Kentucky Wildcat will link up with a familiar face down in Texas, too.

KT Turner, who was an assistant at UK in 2022-23 — Ware’s last season in Lexington before transferring to Villanova — is about to enter year two as head coach at UT Arlington. While the two were together at UK, Ware averaged two points and two rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.

Ware played three seasons at Kentucky from 2020-23 before spending the 2023-24 season at Nova. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 1.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per outing across 33 games played for the northeastern Wildcats.

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Former Kentucky & Villanova Forward Lance Ware Signs With Mavs

🗞: https://t.co/IVoWdZxQgQ
#BuckEm🐎 | #EmptyTheTank🪫 pic.twitter.com/K1mgbtkAPj
— UT Arlington Men’s Basketball (@UTAMavsMBB) June 4, 2024

Turner was only on John Calipari’s staff for one season before accepting the UT Arlington job in March 2023. The 45-year-old posted a 20-14 record (13-7 WAC) during his first run with the Mavericks in 2023-24. Ware is the ninth addition to his roster for 2024-25.

During his three seasons with the Wildcats, Ware quickly became a fan-favorite player with the Big Blue Nation. He appeared in 77 total games for Kentucky but only started nine of them (six as a junior) and averaged just 9.2 minutes per contest. However, he was a bruiser when Calipari needed some extra toughness on the floor.

Ware will wrap up his college career with a bigger opportunity for playing time under Turner