LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s basketball players Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh are among 50 standout players recognized Monday by The United States Basketball Writers Association on the 2024-25 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.

Players on the watch list for the National Player of the Year Award are selected by members of the association’s board of directors. All Division I players remain eligible for the award, which will be announced at the Men’s Final Four in San Antonio from April 5-7.

Kentucky is one of seven schools in the country with two players on the watch list joining Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Purdue, Rutgers and Tennessee.

Starring as the Wildcats’ floor general, Butler has expanded upon his already decorated college career this season. The grad transfer is scoring 13.2 points per game while dishing out a team-best 4.8 assists per contest. He was selected to the Sporting News Midseason All-America Second Team and was the Most Valuable Player of the game vs. Louisville after an epic performance in which he scored 33 points on 10-of-10 shooting, including 6 of 6 from deep. Butler was tabbed the USBWA National Player of the Week as well as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for his efforts.  In the six SEC contests in which he has played, the native of Moreno Valley, California has upped the ante with an average of six assists per league game, ranking third in the conference.

Oweh leads Kentucky in scoring this season with 15.6 points per game. The Newark, New Jersey native is averaging career-best marks in scoring, rebounds (4.6), field-goal percentage (.494), free-throw percentage (.750), assists per game (1.7) and steals per game (1.6). The junior guard has scored in double figures in all 21 of UK’s games this season, making him one of 13 players in Division I to score in double figures in each of their games this season, and one of three “high major” players. He has also been a high-impact defender for the Cats, leading the team with 33 steals and posting multiple swipes in 11 games.

Butler and Oweh have helped lead Kentucky to a 15-6 record this season, including a 6-1 mark against Associated Press Top 15 ranked opponents. The six wins against top-15 foes ties the 2002-03 Kentucky team for the most regular-season victories against top-15 opponents in school history. UK also boasts seven Quad 1 wins on the year, tied for the third most in the nation.

The USBWA has named a National Player of the Year dating back to the 1958-59 season. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer, and two-time USBWA Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player.

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.