Otega Oweh, who averaged 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Oklahoma, has joined the Kentucky men’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season, head coach Mark Pope announced on Saturday.
Oweh has seen action in 60 games and made 37 starts over a two-year career with the Sooners. He will have two years of eligibility with the Wildcats.
“Otega shot 37 percent from the 3-point line last year,” Pope said. “He’s elite at earning trips to the free-throw line and he brings a special physicality and intensity to the game. Otega spent his entire season last year picking up the point guard full court in the Big 12. His tenacity on the court is contagious and his humility off the court is going to endear himself to Big Blue Nation.”
During Oweh’s sophomore season, he averaged 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per outing. He connected on 49.3% of his field-goal attempts and 37.7% from 3-point range. Oweh registered double-digit scoring efforts on 19 occasions, including a career-high 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 10 for 11 from the free-throw line against North Carolina. Additionally, he had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against West Virginia. Oweh added defensive savviness to the Sooners’ lineup with 12 games of multiple steals, including a seven-swipe effort against Green Bay. He notched seven games with five or more rebounds from the guard position.
Oweh was the second-leading scorer for a team that went 20-12 overall and 8-10 in Big 12 action.
“Tega is a high motor, versatile two-way player who can guard multiple positions and put pressure on the rim in any conference in America,” Blair Academy (N.J.) coach Joe Mantegna told ZAGSBLOG.
As a freshman, Oweh made nine starts in 28 appearances. He logged averages of 4.8 points, 2.1 boards and 0.2 assists per game and had four double-figure scoring efforts.
In all, the 6-foot-4 guard has scored 498 points, hauled in 179 rebounds and tallied 80 steals. He’s connected on 49.8% of his 2-point attempts and 36.8% from 3-point range. He was 20 of 53 (37.7%) from long distance in 2023-24. He ranked among the top 20 in steals in the Big 12 Conference during both seasons with the Sooners.
A native of Newark, New Jersey, he was a four-star prospect in the 2022 class and was rated as high as No. 73 by 247Sports. During his prep career, Oweh led Team Final EYBL (PA) to a 17U Peach Jam title and was named the Peach Jam Breakout Player of the Session after averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 boards, 1.8 steals and 1.3 assists per game.
Oweh has three siblings, including an older brother, Odafe, who plays linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens.
For more on his relationship with his brother, click here.
(Release via Kentucky)
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