Trent Noah announces his return to Kentucky for next season

Noah will officially be back in Lexington for the 2026-27 season.

Feb 4, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Trent Noah (9) passes the ball during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky just got one of its depth pieces back for another season. On Sunday, Kentucky native at wing Trent Noah announced his return on social media. This comes after Kam Williams also announced he would be returning last week, as well as the expected returns of big men Malachi Moreno and Reece Potter.

This past season, Noah had a down year as a sophomore, barely seeing the floor for many parts of the year, seeing very inconstent minutes throughout the season. Noah averaged just 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists, shooting 35.5% from the floor overall and 33.3% from three-point range. Noah started three games for the Wildcats this season, but ended up playing just 10 minutes per game after seeing an average of 11 minutes in his first season at Kentucky.

I’m back.

Let’s go to work, #BBN pic.twitter.com/Ey86HczNsq

— Trent Noah (@trentnoah2_) April 12, 2026

Now, he is back, and looking to increase his produsction, as the Wildcats will need him to really knock down some threes next season. Noah looked like he was going to have a breakout sophomore year when he had a 16-point performance in early November, but his production took a hit quickly. Heading into his junior season, his role could expand if he really takes a jump in production, which will earn him more minutes, if so. When Kam Williams went down with an injury in January, his role expanded, but the shots fell very inconsistently.

As a shooter, Noah's impact can be felt quickly in games, but he continued to hesitate last season, not being as aggressive in that sharpshooting role as Mark Pope wanted him to be. Here is what Pope said later in the year when asked about Noah and his shooting in times of struggle: "I don’t worry about Trent Noah making shots. He’ll make shots, he’s gonna make shots through the course of it. So I spend zero time on that. ...We’re gonna need him. Like, we need him."

Noah will get a chance to produce more consistently in year three at Kentucky. The Harlan County native has had a significant impact in games before, but it's all about putting it together on a consistent basis. The potentialy is surely there for the 6-5 wing, and he'll have an opportunity to show that.