After weeks of speculation, negotiations, and a real bidding war among the most powerful programs of the NCAA league, Milan Momčilović decided to wear the Kentucky jersey.
Momčilović, who draws Serbian roots and is considered one of the best shooters in American college basketball, was targeted by numerous giants. Kentucky, Louisville, Arizona, and several other elite programs fought for his signature, but in the end, Mark Pope’s project and – huge money decided it!
According to American media reports, the value of his NIL contract (earnings from marketing rights and commercial activities) ranges between six and 6.5 million dollars, which ranks him among the highest-paid college basketball players in the United States of America. Some sources claim that during the negotiations the price went up to 7.5 million dollars, while earlier estimates spoke of even eight million!
BBN!💙 pic.twitter.com/2MB1iYREk8
— Milan Momcilovic (@MilanMomcilovi5) June 2, 2026
Americans see Momčilović as a player who can change Kentucky’s season. Last year in the Iowa State jersey, he recorded 16.9 points per game, and an incredible 48.7 percent of three-point shooting made him one of the deadliest shooters in the entire NCAA competition. In addition, he made as many as 136 three-pointers, the most in the entire country.
Interestingly, Momčilović previously tested the NBA market, but the assessment was that he would most likely be selected only in the second round of the draft. When offers heavy with several million dollars arrived on the table, the decision about another season in college became much easier.
American media call his arrival at Kentucky the biggest signing of the summer and a move that could return one of the most trophy-winning NCAA programs to the very top of university basketball.
Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic has committed to Kentucky🔥 pic.twitter.com/8J0dFS1qLW
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) June 2, 2026
Serbia follows Milan
Particularly interesting for the domestic public is the fact that Momčilović has Serbian roots. He was born in the American state of Wisconsin, into a family of Serbian emigrants who arrived in the US during the nineties. Precisely because of this, his name has been carefully followed for a long time by people from the Basketball Federation of Serbia.
There is great hope in the Serbian basketball public that the talented shooter could one day wear the jersey of the “Eagles”, and the KSS is already working on a project to gather young players of Serbian origin from America and track them through a special development program.
— CAMERON MILLS (@CameronMillz) June 2, 2026
That they are seriously thinking about him in the national team was also confirmed by Nemanja Jovanović, a member of the coaching staff of Serbia and an associate of Dušan Alimpijević.
“We are following Milan Momčilović and we would like him to play for the national team of Serbia in the future,” Jovanović said recently.
Momčilović is thus slowly becoming one of the most interesting names of Serbian basketball in America, and many believe that the next season could completely launch him toward the NBA league and the Serbia jersey.
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Source: Kurir; Photo: Iowa State Daily