Kentucky star Oweh returning for senior year

Kentucky leading scorer Otega Oweh is withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft and returning to Lexington for his senior year, the school announced Wednesday.

All players who previously declared for the draft had until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET to remove their names and maintain their college eligibility.

"I got great feedback from NBA teams, but the consensus was to come back to school and have a great year," Oweh told ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello.

"I want to try and up my stock even more, and put myself in a position to win a national championship with all the possible accolades that come with that."

Oweh joined Kentucky last season after spending the previous two years with Oklahoma. The 6-foot-5 guard shined in his first season with the Wildcats, averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 boards, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 steals across 36 appearances. His efforts earned him All-SEC second-team honors.

Oweh's return is a huge boost for Mark Pope's squad as the program lost four of its five starters from last campaign.

Pope had a busy offseason retooling his roster on the fly, landing Arizona State forward Jayden Quaintance, Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe, and Florida reserve Denzel Aberdeen in the transfer portal.

Kentucky also added three four-star recruits, including McDonald's All-American center Malachi Moreno.

"We have the talent to be the No. 1 team in the country," Oweh said. "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."