Otega Oweh announces return to Kentucky for senior season

Otega Oweh is running it back in the blue and white for another year.

On Wednesday, shortly ahead of the withdrawal deadline, Oweh announced he has pulled his name from the 2025 NBA Draft pool and will return to Kentucky in 2025-26 for his senior season. With his return, the Wildcats have a completed roster in place going into Mark Pope‘s second year as head coach.

“I’m back better now,” Oweh wrote on Instagram.

After an impressive junior season saw him average 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per outing on 49.2 percent shooting, Oweh will be among the top choices for Preseason SEC Player of the Year this fall. The 6-foot-5 guard, who made All-SEC Second-Team in 2024-25, had until 11:59 p.m. ET to make his stay-or-go decision.

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With Oweh back in the fold, Kentucky’s official roster for the upcoming 2025-26 season sits at 14 players: four returning pieces, three incoming freshmen, six transfer portal commits, and one international addition. But the former Oklahoma transfer was always the most important component of them all, and his coming back to Lexington should have UK, at minimum, looking at a top 15 preseason ranking.

Oweh has improved his overall game in all three of his college seasons thus far. In his first season at Kentucky, he posted career-highs in scoring (16.4 PPG), rebounding (4.7 RPG), assists (1.7 APG), and steals (1.6 SPG) while shooting 52.2 percent on twos, 35.5 percent on threes, and a career-best 77.6 percent from the free throw line.

In 2024-25, he was best known for his two game-winning shots against his former team. Oweh first broke the Sooners’ hearts on the road in late February before doing the same thing again during Kentucky’s opening game of the SEC Tournament just a couple of weeks later. He dropped 28 points in the first game and 27 more in the rematch.

Oweh had the opportunity to begin his professional career, but another impressive year at Kentucky should only boost his draft stock even more going into next summer.

Kentucky Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Roster Tracker

PORTAL / INTERNATIONAL COMMITS (7)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
• Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5

RETURNING PIECES / INCOMING FRESHMEN (7)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Confirmed return on 5/28
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Incoming Freshman – Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)

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