National writer predicts Milan Momcilovic will commit to Kentucky

According to at least one national reporter, Kentucky is in a good spot with college free agent Milan Momcilovic.

Momcilovic, who spent the last three seasons at Iowa State and is statistically college basketball’s best three-point shooter, pulled his name out of the NBA Draft ahead of Wednesday night’s deadline. With St. John’s landing a commitment from Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou soon after, the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, and Arizona are now seen as the top schools battling it out for Momcilovic’s commitment.

During a live edition of CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball Podcast on Thursday morning, Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish started the show off by talking about NBA Draft withdrawal decisions. Momcilovic’s name quickly came up — and Norlander has Kentucky as the frontrunner.

“My prediction right now, is that Milan Momcilovic will go to Kentucky,” Norlander said. “My understanding is that decision is going to come in in the next one, two, three days. Four days max. We’ll probably podcast again on Monday. I’m expecting when we podcast on Monday for Momcilovic’s commitment and his decision to be in. My forecast is that it’s Kentucky, but you know, we’ll see. We’ll see if Louisville can get in there.”

Norlander added that Arizona is currently a “distant, distant third” in this race, although Parrish said it’s not for a lack of trying. St. John’s is out of the running now that Yessoufou is off the board. Norlander and Parrish believe the money from UK and UL’s side is just too overwhelming at this stage for even a school like Arizona to match. $6 million is apparently the starting point for Momcilovic, who had a second-round promise from an NBA team, according to Norlander.

“Arizona, I don’t think, has the money to contend,” Norlander continued. “I think Kentucky and Louisville just have more money to play with than Arizona. To a factor where I think it matters. I think the difference between the offers will be north of a million dollars.”

Momcilovic choosing Kentucky would immediately push the Wildcats into the national conversation going into the 2026-27 season. The 6-foot-8 wing is coming off an All-Big 12 Second Team campaign at Iowa State, where he averaged 16.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per outing on insane shooting splits of 50.6/48.7/87.8. Head coach Mark Pope appears to be in good shape as we head down the home stretch, but the job isn’t finished yet.