Oscar Tshiebwe announces he's returning to Kentucky Wildcats for 2022-23 men's basketball season

Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe, the consensus National Player of the Year, announced Wednesday he is returning to Lexington for another season.

Tshiebwe made his announcement on SportsCenter, saying he came to a decision last week and will look to improve his NBA draft stock next season. He becomes the first Wooden Award winner since North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 to return to college.

While Name-Image-Likeness legislation will play a major factor in borderline first-round prospects opting to return to school rather than entering the NBA draft, Tshiebwe's status as a foreign student had posed some issues in his ability to earn money. But the Congo native is expected to be able to make NIL money moving forward.

«As a student with an F1 visa, I can't even talk about it,» Tshiebwe said on SportsCenter. «It's a little bit tricky.»

Tshiebwe was dominant during his first season at Kentucky, becoming the first Wildcat to win the Wooden Award since Anthony Davis in 2012. He also won Naismith Player of the Year, NABC National Player of the Year, Pete Newell Big Man of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-American selection.

He transferred to Kentucky midway through the 2020-21 after a season and a half at West Virginia, but didn't suit up until the 2021-22 campaign. He had 17 points and 20 rebounds in the season opener against Duke, setting the stage for what would be a historically productive season.

Tshiebwe had 28 double-doubles, including 16 straight to end the season, and averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds — leading the nation in the latter category.

«The things that he's done haven't been done for 50 years,» Kentucky coach John Calipari said last month. «Let me say this again,