He returned briefly for the 2008-09 season. Ten days after his final game, on January 21, 2009, Steele, who had been suffering from plantar fasciitis, announced that he would forgo the rest of the 2008-09 season, thus effectively ending his college career. In his final season he averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 15 games. He made a dismal 36.6% of his field goal attempts, but was making (at that time) a team-leading 38% three-pointers.