Could a surprise player lead Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats in scoring?

Heading into the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball season, many believe the leading scorer for Mark Pope's team is going to be Otega Oweh. This would almost be a universal assumption among Kentucky fans. While many believe the leading scorer from last year, Oweh, will collect this title once again, there is a player who could overtake him.

That player is the Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe. Last season in the ACC, Lowe averaged 16.8 points per game to lead his team, and he didn't shoot the ball efficiently.

This season in Pope's offense, Lowe will be getting a lot better looks, and better looks will mean the efficiency will improve. Lowe shot the ball over 14 times per game last season at Pitt, and this number will decrease significantly at Kentucky, but the more open looks could lead to better percentages for the Junior.

All of the reports from practice have said that Lowe is turning heads and is ahead of where many thought he would be at this time of the year.

He is also a transfer who has played some big-time basketball in the ACC. While the ACC was down last year, it is still high-level competition, so the learning curve of SEC hoops shouldn't have a massive effect.

Lowe is going to have a career-type season in the Pope system, and if this does happen, it means the Wildcats are elite.

It would come as a massive surprise if Oweh doesn't lead this team in scoring, but if it isn't him, it will likely be Lowe.