Kentucky still outside of Preseason Top 25s ahead of Milan Momcilovic's decision

What kind of impact would Milan Momcilovic have on Kentucky’s roster? Without him, the Cats are not a preseason Top 25 team; with him, they would be.

A fresh batch of preseason rankings is out this morning. The Athletic’s CJ Moore has Kentucky last on his list of teams “also under consideration” outside of the Top 25, which would make them No. 38. The Cats are No. 40 in Jon Rothstein’s daily update. Kentucky did not make the cut in Gary Parrish’s latest Top 25 and 1 that was released on Friday.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello did not include Kentucky in his newest Way-Too-Early Top 25 or even the next five out, but noted that if the Cats add Momcilovic, the nation’s top three-point shooter, they will rise “comfortably” into the rankings. Louisville is No. 13 in Borzello’s rankings; with Momcilovic, the Cards would climb into the Top 10. Arizona is No. 10; if the West Coast Wildcats add Momcilovic, they will be a top-three squad in Borzello’s eyes. Currently, Florida is No. 1 in his rankings, with Duke No. 2 and Michigan No. 3.

“There’s one big domino left to fall before we can truly determine the 2026-27 national landscape: Milan Momcilovic. The former Iowa State forward withdrew from the NBA draft at the deadline but remains uncommitted as of this update, with Kentucky, Louisville and Arizona vying for him. Any of them would benefit from his addition. Kentucky would rise comfortably into the top 25, Louisville would be a clear-cut top-10 team and Arizona would challenge Florida and Duke at the top.”

For what it’s worth, Borzello said Kentucky is still considered the favorite for Momcilovic, although the weekend came and went without any news. Kentucky still has the highest offer, but Louisville and Arizona remain in the mix. According to Matt Jones, the Cards upped their offer slightly since Thursday, but it is still below Kentucky’s. Of those three teams, Kentucky by far needs Momcilovic the most. As Borzello wrote a few days ago, he could save Mark Pope’s third season.

“It’s been a rocky offseason in Lexington. Mark Pope and Kentucky had a difficult start to the transfer portal, swinging and missing — in some cases publicly — on several top targets. The Wildcats righted the ship by adding electric guards Zoom Diallo (Washington) and Alex Wilkins (Furman) as well as talented international prospect Ousmane N’Diaye, but their best stretch of the spring might have come over the last week.

“Not only did Malachi Moreno, a freshman big man who boosted his stock during the predraft process, withdraw to return to Kentucky, the Wildcats also positioned themselves well in the Momcilovic sweepstakes following his withdrawal. Moreno should be in for a breakout sophomore season, and the combination of his return with a renewed opportunity to potentially land a game-changing player from the portal makes Pope’s program a winner.”

Do you prefer analytics to opinions? Eric Crawford played around with Evan Miya’s Roster Projection tool. If Kentucky adds Momcilovic, the Cats would be somewhere between No. 13 and No. 19 in Evan Miya’s rankings. The addition would boost Louisville to the No. 3 to No. 7 range.

Milan Momcilovic watch is real. Several places can do this. Using the "Roster projection" tool at Evan Miya's site, adding him to the Cardinals roster projects it to a preseason rank between No. 3 and No. 7 nationally. To Kentucky's between No. 13 and 19.

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) May 31, 2026

The decision is now in Momcilovic’s hands. Hopefully, it’s one that makes the talking heads update their Top 25s again to include Kentucky.

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