Wooden Preseason Top 50 Features Lowe, Oweh, Quaintance
LOS ANGELES – The Kentucky men’s basketball team landed three players on the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 as Jaland Lowe, Otega Oweh and Jayden Quaintance were among the names recognized as frontrunners for the prestigious honor in an announcement on Tuesday.
Kentucky is one of just four schools with at least three representatives on the list joining Florida, Houston and St. John’s.
Created in 1976, the Wooden Award is in its 50th season in 2025-26. The honor is given annually to the most outstanding individual player in men’s and women’s college basketball with past winners which include Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) and Oscar Tshiebwe (2022).
Lowe is in his first year with the Wildcats after transferring from Pitt, where he was a Third Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection a year ago after leading the Panthers in scoring at 16.8 points per game. The point guard was one of just eight players in Division I to average at least 16.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 2024-25. Lowe was named preseason All-SEC Third Team this year and was recognized on the preseason watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Bob Cousy Award.
Oweh was the Wildcats’ leading scorer a season ago, averaging 16.2 points per game while scoring in double figures in 33 of the team’s 36 contests. The senior guard has raked in preseason honors in recent weeks, having been tabbed a preseason All-American by outlets including Sporting News, ESPN, CBS, Blue Ribbon and more. Oweh was also named the preseason player of the year in the Southeastern Conference and featured on watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year, Jerry West Award and Naismith Trophy.
Quaintance is a transfer from Arizona State where he started all 24 games in which he played as a freshman before suffering a season ending ACL injury. The big man averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting 52.5 percent from the field. Quaintance was named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team and the Big 12 All-Defensive Team last season. Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, he was chosen as a preseason candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, recognizing the best center in college basketball.
Midseason and late season watch lists for the Wooden Award will follow later this season. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications. Winners will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 10, 2026.
Kentucky is in action tonight, taking on Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in the Champions Classic. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
