Lexington’s top high school basketball player will stay in Kentucky for college
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryan Station High School basketball star Amari Owens makes his college commitment.
- Owens will begin his college career in the commonwealth at Eastern Kentucky.
- Owens was named the boys Lexington Player of the Year last season.
The top high school boys basketball player in Lexington will be staying in Kentucky to start his college career.
On Friday afternoon, Bryan Station standout senior guard Amari Owens committed to play college basketball at Eastern Kentucky. Owens announced his commitment to the Colonels in a social media post on his Instagram page.
Owens, a 6-foot-1 prospect in the 2026 recruiting class, was named the boys Lexington Player of the Year last season by the Herald-Leader. As a junior for the Defenders, Owens averaged 22.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as Bryan Station went 25-7 overall, won the 42nd District championship and reached the semifinals of the 11th Region Tournament.
In addition to his player of the year nod, Owens was also selected to the all-city first team and was named a second-team All-State selection last season by the Herald-Leader. Owens was also a member of the boys All-11th Region team as a junior.
As a sophomore during the 2023-24 season, Owens paced Bryan Station with 22.1 points per contest while hauling in 4.5 rebounds per game. He was also the team’s leading scorer as a freshman during the 2022-23 season with 15.2 points per game.
Owens is set to join an Eastern Kentucky program that has been under the stewardship of head coach A.W. Hamilton since March 2018. Hamilton is about to begin his eighth season in charge in Richmond.
Hamilton guided Eastern Kentucky to the outright ASUN regular-season conference championship in the 2023-24 season. Starting with the 2026-27 season, Owens’ freshman college campaign, Eastern Kentucky will play in the newly-formed United Athletic Conference.
Eastern Kentucky hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
The Colonels will open their 2024-25 season with a matchup against Midway on Nov. 6 in Berea. EKU’s true home opener takes place Nov. 10 in Richmond against longtime rival Western Kentucky.
Owens is the latest Lexington high school basketball star to elect to begin his college career in the commonwealth. Former Frederick Douglass standout Armelo Boone, who closed his prep career last season at Woodford County, will be a freshman at Western Kentucky this season after choosing the Hilltoppers as a three-star recruit.
