Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell Declares for 2023 NBA Draft

The New York native was one of the faces of this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament.

After a March to remember, Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell is eyeing the next level.

Nowell has declared for the 2023 NBA draft, according to a Wednesday evening post on his Instagram page. The post comes on the heels of the Wildcats’ elimination at the hands of Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight on Saturday evening at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“To play in the NBA has been a dream of mine since I was seven years old and I finally have the opportunity to turn a dream into a reality,” Nowell wrote, thanking Kansas State fans for embracing a “kid from Harlem, N.Y.”

Nowell, a first team All-Big 12 performer who obliterated the Wildcats’ single-season assists per game record this year, became one of the faces of the men’s NCAA Tournament with a transcendent performance against Michigan State in the Sweet 16.

In that game, Nowell scored 20 points and handed out a tournament-record 19 assists in Kansas State’s 98-93 overtime win. His upbringing in New York, where the East Regional was held, generated much commentary and landed him on the back cover of both major New York tabloids.

Before transferring to Kansas State, Nowell earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors with Little Rock in 2020.