Can Mark Pope continue his recruiting hot streak and land this international star?

Mark Pope has really silenced the doubters as of late after landing a top transfer in Milan Momcilivic, top 10 2027 recruit Ryan Hampton, and bringing back Malachi Moreno. As for the upcoming season, he may not be done with the big additions. Kentucky has been seen as a legit contender for Mikola Kusturica, one of the top young international prospects in the world. Now, things are starting to heat up.

Along with Kentucky, schools such as Arizona, Gonzaga, Duke and Louisville are involved in trying to land Kusturica's services. But one school in particular is seen as the favorite and that is your Kentucky Wildcats. Mark Pope was expected to pursue the promising international prospect very, very hard and it looks like it is working so far. On Tuesday night, 247 Sports' Travis Branham logged a crystal ball prediction for Kentucky to land the 6-7 forward with a 'high' confidence level.

Landing Kusturica would certainly cap off next season's roster in a big way and here's why. Not only is the 6-7 forward seen as one of the top overall international prospects, but he is young and has plenty of time to continue developing. Many NBA Draft experts believe Kusturica can be a top 10 pick in the 2028 draft. That's a key emphasis on the year because the young prospect has to spend two years in college before he can head to the next level. Whoever does land Kusturica will have a ton of potential on their hands. A versatile forward who can score from all three levels with a ton of buzz around him all while playing multiple years of college? Who would say no to that?

Nikola Kusturica went for 20+10 to help Barcelona win the adidas NextGen Finals championship game, hitting tough shots, showing his handle and passing feel and making big plays defensively.

The 6'9 wing will headline Serbia's loaded FIBA U17 World Cup team next month. pic.twitter.com/JoeRnnlv7L
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 25, 2026

Kusturica is set to play in the FIBA U17 World Cup, which runs from June 27 until July 5, but there is a good chance that the 6-7 forward makes his decision by then, especially considering all of the buzz as of late around him and the Wildcats. After spending big on Momcilovic, Kentucky seems to still have some money on-hand and are doing whatever it takes to try and land a young international star. He obviously has other top suitors after him, but Kentucky looks like the team to beat right now.

This Kentucky roster is seen as a top 15-20 roster after adding Momcilovic, but with a promising future projected lottery pick as well, expectations would become sky high next season as a title-contending roster. Can the Wildcats seal the deal?

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