Mark Pope lands Milan Momcilovic making Kentucky legit contenders

Kentucky is now a legit squad thanks to the massive addition of Milan Momcilovic.

Mar 13, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) reacts at the end of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

After nearly a week of waiting, we finally got an answer on where Milan Momcilovic is heading. On Monday night, the top three overall transfer from Iowa State announced his committment to Kentucky, choosing the Wildcats over Louisville and Arizona. Mark Pope just picked up his biggest get yet in his time in Lexington.

Landing Momcilovic is absolutely massive for Kentucky. Not only does he fit Mark Pope's system almost perfectly, but he now syrockets the Wildcats into becoming a top 15-20 team heading into next season. The 6-8 forward had a tough choice in the end as it was seen to be down to Kentucky and Louisville, but it terms of fit, usage and money, it seemed like an easy decision. Momcilovic is going to be the go-to scorer that this Kentucky roster needed and he's the perfect one to play under Pope.

Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) reacts in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Last season at Iowa State, Momcilovic led the entire country in three-point percentage and made 136 threes for the Cyclones. The 6-8 forward had plenty of scoring outbursts, but arguably his best game was against Cincinnati, where he put up 34 points on 8-14 shooting from deep. In a Mark Pope offense, he's going to get a lot of chances to let it fly from three. With all of the spacing and ball movement, Momcilovic is going to have a fun time with how well he shoots it. Against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, he dropped 20 points on 4-9 shooting from three. He's going to pair great playing with a facilitating point guard in Zoom Diallo.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) speaks during the postgame press conference after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

During his time testing the NBA Draft process, the 6-8 forward shared his thoughts on Kentucky: "I think Kentucky would be a good fit,” Momcilovic told the Lexington Herald Leader at the time. "I obviously went against Pope at BYU his first year (in the Big 12), and I loved how his team played. I think we went 1-1 against them, but they killed us at their place, because they fly the ball up the court and shoot 3s. I really like the way they play. And obviously Kentucky last year, he didn’t have enough shooters around him to really coach, I feel like, the way he wanted. But I think if I were to choose Kentucky, that would be a good fit for me. I feel like I’d be a great player for him and he’d be a good coach for me."

Mark Pope has silenced the doubters with his biggest get yet at Kentucky and one that fits extremely well with how he wants to run the offense.

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