VILLANOVA, Pa. ââ'¬" Villanova redshirt freshman forward Omari Spellman (Cleveland, Ohio) will enter his name into the 2018 National Basketball Association Draft process but won't hire an agent, it was announced today.

Spellman was tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Philadelphia Big Five Rookie of the Year for his work in 2017-18. He started 39 of Villanova's 40 games last season and averaged 10.9 points and 8.0 rebounds as the Wildcats set a school record with 36 victories on their way to the NCAA national championship. Spellman connected on .433 of his attempts from beyond the 3-point arc and led the Wildcats with 59 blocked shots.

"Omari's intelligence and willingness to be coached allowed him to make great strides last season," stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "His development as a complete Villanova Basketball player was instrumental to our team's success. We look forward to working together with Omari and his family in the coming weeks as they go through the process of evaluating the next step in his basketball career."

The 2017-18 Villanova Men's Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.