Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic commits to Kentucky

Mark Pope has landed the Big Fish.

Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic has committed to the Kentucky Wildcats, per multiple reports. Considered the No. 3 overall player to enter the portal this offseason by On3, Momcilovic chose UK over the likes of Louisville and Arizona. The 6-foot-8 wing was statistically the best three-point shooter in all of college basketball last season at 48.7 percent on 7.5 attempts per outing. His addition immediately makes Kentucky one of the top contenders in the SEC going into the 2026-27 campaign.

Momcilovic, who pulled his name out of the NBA Draft ahead of Wednesday night’s deadline, could potentially have two more years of college eligibility if the “5-in-5” rule ends up passing. He was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team last season after averaging 16.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per outing. His true shooting percentage of 69.8 percent ranked him in the 98th percentile, per CBB Analytics.

In short, this is a massive (and understandably expensive) win for Pope and the Wildcats.

Momcilovic is Pope’s sixth transfer addition of the offseason, and easily the highest-ranked of the group. He joins guards Zoom Diallo (Washington), Alex Wilkins (Furman), and Jerone Morton (Washington State), along with frontcourt pieces Justin McBride (James Madison) and Franck Kepnang (Washington). Diallo and Wilkins are ranked among the top 35 players to enter the portal this offseason.

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Those six complement a handful of returning pieces for Pope, headlined by All-SEC Freshman center Malachi Moreno, who also tested the NBA Draft waters before returning to UK. Kam Williams, Trent Noah, Braydon Hawthorne, and Reece Potter are running it back in Lexington, as well. Kentucky also brought in a couple of high school prospects in Zyon Hawthorne and Mason Williams.

With Momcilovic on board, Kentucky is now at 14 filled roster spots, leaving one more open for Pope to potentially use if he chooses. This certainly feels like the biggest recruiting win of the Pope era so far.