In a way that feels like a buzzer-beater game-winning shot, Kentucky gets their guy from the transfer portal in the final days of roster constructing, which now nearly finalizes their 2026-27 roster. On Monday night (June 1) around 9:00 pm, Iowa State transfer forward, Milan Momcilovic, announced that he would be playing for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats next season.
Milan spent the last three seasons playing for the Iowa State Cyclones, solidifying himself as one of the best forwards in all of college basketball. So good that he spent all offseason preparing for the NBA Draft with serious interest from NBA organizations. He was projected to be drafted around the First Round area, with more realistically looking at a Second Round selection. With no guarantee from a franchise that they’d take him in the First Round, he would stand a great chance to make more money by returning back to college for another season as he was the No. 1 overall available player in the transfer portal, according to ESPN’s rankings.
Milan Momcilovic averaged a career-high 16.9 points in 30.5 minutes a game in 2025-26, along with 3.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 steals. The 6’8 shooter will bring size, experience, and skill to this newly formed Kentucky roster — which is just what it needed. It’s important to note that what Momcilovic accomplished last season behind the three-point line — a clip of making 48.7% of his 279 three-point attempts (136 made) — was one of the best shooting stretches this sport has ever seen. He would finish the year with over 3.6 made threes a game.
You may also remember, he was on the team that ended Kentucky’s season in the Round of 32 last March in St. Louis. The ‘Cats got wrecked by 19 to put a lid on the season with Momcilovic taking 20 points back to his hotel room with him.
After the 2026 NBA Draft Combine and meeting with different teams, he ultimately decided to return to college with a quick list of St. John’s, Arizona, Louisville, and Kentucky as his potential suitors. As the dominoes fell with St. John’s taking a pledge from Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou, that took them out the equation leaving just Louisville, Arizona, and Kentucky.
Louisville and Kentucky both seemed to be the heavy favorites with Arizona more on the back-burner, so it became what was believed to have been a bidding war between the two programs for his commitment. Of course the numbers are not public of what the officials offers were, but it seems to be that they were pretty close, both around the $6 million ballpark, with Louisville’s being a few hundred thousand below that. People close to the situation say that the Cardinals’ offer would have to have been much higher than Kentucky’s for him to commit there as the fit on the Wildcats’ roster just made more sense and honestly they needed him more. There’s nothing wrong with that. They did. Losing Otega Oweh (NBA) and Denzel Aberdeen (no eligibility) hurts big time, so they are needing to replace their efforts with someone who can shoot and score the ball. Milan Momcilovic is the perfect replacement to go along with the others they who they brought in to fill those roles.
Back to the fit of it all, Kentucky had a starting spot with his name on it and essentially the greenest green light of all time waiting for him. As for Louisville, they went heavy in the transfer portal this offseason and have piled-up on incoming talent. He wouldn’t be as needed within their current roster and would likely have a lesser of a role there versus in Lexington.
With that being said, Mark Pope and his staff won out and Milan is the newest Kentucky Wildcat. Celebrate this one because this was the biggest win of the offseason.
If you enjoyed this story, follow us on social media for more Kentucky coverage, breaking news, and analysis delivered as it all unfolds. Over 150,000+ already do! We’re on Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, and more. Go Cats!
Leave a Reply