Iowa State’s Momcilovic named to Julius Erving Award midseason watch list
Iowa State junior forward Milan Momcilovic was named to the Julius Erving Award midseason watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.
Momcilovic is one of 10 small forwards selected nationwide. He is the second Cyclone honored this week as part of the Naismith Starting 5 Awards, joining point guard Tamin Lipsey, who was named to the Bob Cousy Award Top 10 on Monday. Iowa State is one of eight programs with at least two players represented across three Starting 5 watch lists released so far this week, including five from the Big 12.
Momcilovic leads the nation in 3-point percentage at 54.0% and total 3-pointers made with 88, while ranking second nationally in 3-pointers per game at 4.0. His 163 attempts rank 61st in Division I.
He already holds Iowa State records for single-season 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made per game. His 88 made 3s this season rank ninth in program history, while his 212 career 3-pointers rank fourth all time. Momcilovic has nine games this season with at least five made 3-pointers, the most in school history.
The Julius Erving Award, now in its 12th year, honors the top small forward in Division I men’s basketball and is named for the Hall of Famer and former professional standout.
Fan voting for the remaining rounds begins Friday, Feb. 6, at hoophallawards.com and will count as one committee vote in the finalist selection process. The midseason list will be reduced to five finalists in mid-March, with the winner selected later in March by Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees.
The 2026 Erving Award winner will be presented on a date to be determined along with the other Men’s Starting Five awards: the Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Karl Malone Award (power forward) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center).
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award include Cooper Flagg of Duke (2025), Dalton Knecht of Tennessee (2024), Jalen Wilson of Kansas (2023), Wendell Moore Jr. of Duke (2022), Corey Kispert of Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey of Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura of Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges of Villanova (2018), Josh Hart of Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine of Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson of Arizona (2015).
