Kentucky men’s basketball and head coach Mark Pope have landed the current top transfer in the portal in former Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic.
Momcilovic removed his name from the NBA draft just before Wednesday night’s withdrawal deadline, and among the Wildcats, was also linked to St. John’s, Louisville and Arizona as programs to watch. His commitment was announced via social media on Monday night.
St. John’s was reportedly out of the mix shortly after his announcement, according to Adam Zagoria, because it landed former Baylor star Tounde Yessoufou. Louisville and Kentucky were alleged to be the top contending programs, with Arizona as a distant third.
With the Cyclones, the 6-foot-8 junior averaged 16.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 50.6% shooting per game during the 2025-26 season. Against the Wildcats during the Sweet 16, Momcilovic posted 20 points, five rebounds and two steals in the 82-63 victory that ended Kentucky’s season.
The forward also shot just under 49% from beyond the arc last season, averaging 7.5 3-point attempts per game. During his entire three-season tenure at Iowa State, Momcilovic shot 43% from the 3-point line.
His 43.7% 3-point shooting not only led the nation last season, but propelled him to a school-record 136 makes.
As one of the best shooters in college basketball last year, the former Cyclone converted 44% of his made 3s off the catch and 49% of 3s off the dribble. Although Momcilovic clearly specializes and favors shots beyond the arc, he was a previously dominant mid-post player and still performs well in the paint.
The most prominent struggle-area for Momcilovic is his defensive ability and the fact that he’s rebounding below average for his size; the Cats, however, were looking to land an offensive asset like him.
The forward was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team last season and was also a finalist for the Julius Erving Award, which recognizes the nation’s top small forward.
Before landing Momcilovic, Kentucky held the No. 79 class in On3’s rankings. St. John’s ranked No. 61, Arizona sat at No. 68 and Louisville checked with the highest ranking at No. 11.
With the addition of the forward, the Cats are in line to be not only a ranked team, but perhaps even a team that has a chance at a deep tournament run. With Kentucky’s prior recruiting class, the Wildcats were looking to be a fringe top 25 team.
Momcilovic is Kentucky’s sixth transfer for the upcoming season, and the second forward amongst the portal commits.
