The hype surrounding Otega Oweh continues to grow. The Kentucky Wildcats senior guard received another major honor on Thursday. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) selected Oweh as one of just 20 players nationwide on the 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year watchlist, one of the most prestigious individual awards in college basketball.
The winner will be chosen after the regular season through a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches and announced during the week of the 2026 Men’s Final Four. For Kentucky, this achievement is another indication that Oweh is one of the elite players in the country — and the top candidate in the SEC. The last Wildcat to win the award was Oscar Tshiebwe in 2022.
Oweh is one of just five SEC players to make the list. Other notable names include Cameron Boozer (Duke), Donovan Dent (UCLA), Labaron Philon (Alabama), and Bennett Stirtz (Iowa).
But that wasn’t his only recognition this week. On Wednesday, The Field of 68 and Sports Illustrated named him a Preseason All-American. Other media outlets, including CBS Sports and ESPN, made the same call. Oweh was also selected to the watchlist for the Jerry West Award, which honors the best shooting guard in the nation each season. CBS Sports even ranked him as the ninth-best player in all of college basketball heading into the 2025-26 season.
The excitement surrounding Oweh is backed up by his on-court performance. In Kentucky’s 78-65 exhibition win over top-ranked Purdue, Oweh posted 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in just 17 minutes of action. Last season, he led the Wildcats in scoring and is expected to do so again — this time on a deeper, more talented roster.
Oweh will return to action Thursday evening in Kentucky’s final exhibition game, as the Wildcats host the Georgetown Hoyas at 7:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. Kentucky officially tips off the season next week against Nicholls.
For Kentucky fans, the message is clear: the path toward a monster season — and possibly the nation’s top individual award — is wide open for Otega Oweh.
