SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – Kentucky center Amari Williams was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s preseason watch list for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Friday. Named after the Naismith Hall of Famer and NBA all-time scoring leader, the award is in its 11th year.

Williams became the first player in Coastal Athletic Association league history to earn defensive player of the year honors in three consecutive seasons. A transfer from Drexel, he finished his career ranking fifth all-time with 186 blocked shots. Williams, a two-time All-CAA First-Team selection, also scored 1,081 career points and hauled in 732 career boards.

For his career, Williams has averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 105 career outings. He has connected on 51.9% of his field-goal attempts and has recorded 24 career double-doubles. Williams has topped double-figure scoring in 63 games, while leading his team in blocked shots in 76 games.

The Nottingham, England, native logged 15 points and tallied six boards, while also accounting for a team-high-tying six assists against Kentucky Wesleyan in UK’s first exhibition of the season.

Williams is among 20 candidates on the list for best small center in college basketball. He is joined by Alabama’s Clifford Omoruyi, Arkansas’ Jonas Aidoo and Ole Miss’ Malik Dia as other players from the SEC on the early-season watch list.

The list will narrow down to 10 players in early February, with the final five being announced in March. The award winner will be revealed at the Final Four in San Antonio.

The Wildcats will open their season on Nov. 4 inside of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. UK will play host to Wright State with the game tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

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.