Oweh withdraws from NBA draft, returning to UK

Kentucky defender Otega Oweh has withdrawn his sanction from the NBA draught and volition instrumentality to the Wildcats for his elder season, his cause Wilmer Jackson of Spencer Sports told ESPN Wednesday.

"I got large feedback from NBA teams, but the statement was to travel backmost to schoolhouse and person a large year," Oweh told ESPN. "I privation to effort and up my banal adjacent more, and enactment myself successful a presumption to triumph a nationalist title with each the imaginable accolades that travel with that.

Oweh had until 11:59 p.m. ET to marque his stay-or-go decision.

A 6-foot-5 defender from New Jersey, Oweh enjoyed a breakout run aft transferring to Kentucky from Oklahoma past spring. He averaged vocation highs crossed the board, putting up 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals, earning second-team All-SEC honors successful the process.

Oweh was terrific down the agelong of the season, scoring 20 oregon much points 8 times successful February and March -- including 2 game-winners against his erstwhile schoolhouse portion averaging 27.5 points successful the 2 victories implicit the Sooners.

Oweh was invited to the NBA draught harvester successful Chicago, wherever helium performed good successful the 2 5-on-5 scrimmages. He had 10 points and 3 assists successful the archetypal scrimmage and followed it up with 14 points and 5 rebounds the adjacent day, being 1 of the champion wide defenders astatine the camp.

With Oweh officially backmost successful the fold, however, Kentucky has solidified its lawsuit arsenic a preseason top-10 team. The Wildcats mislaid 4 of 5 starters from past season, but reloaded via the transportation portal and recruiting trail.

"We person the endowment to beryllium the No. 1 squad successful the country," Oweh told ESPN. "A batch of guys who are bare to marque that jump, and that strength to spell get nationalist title No. 9 for Kentucky. I'm excited to play with everyone. It volition beryllium a amusive year."

Mark Pope and his unit landed top-100 transfers Jayden Quaintance (9.4 PPG astatine Arizona State), Jaland Lowe (16.8 PPG astatine Pitt), Denzel Aberdeen (7.7 PPG astatine Florida), Kam Williams (9.3 PPG astatine Tulane) and Mouhamed Dioubate (7.2 PPG astatine Alabama), portion besides bringing successful 3 ESPN 100 recruits: Jasper Johnson (No. 18), Malachi Moreno (No. 25) and Braydon Hawthorne (No. 81).

Oweh is the apical returnee, though large antheral Brandon Garrison (5.9 PPG) is expected to instrumentality connected a bigger role, particularly if Quaintance -- who underwent country successful March to repair a torn ACL -- misses clip to statesman the season.

"My mindset is trying to beryllium the alpha guy," Oweh said. "I request to beryllium that dependable that leads the team. I'm 1 of the fewer guys that was determination past year. I cognize the feeling of losing successful the Sweet 16. I program to pb the radical this year."

Kentucky volition unfastened its 2025-26 play with October accumulation games against Purdue and Georgetown.