Milan Momcilovic could have kept his name in the 2026 NBA Draft, but the allure of returning to college — and the money that would come with it — ended up being far too much to turn down.
During his first media scrum with local reporters on Thursday, Momcilovic walked us through his pre-draft process, how close he was to keeping his name in, and what kind of feedback he received from the many scouts and front office executives he met with.
But let’s back up first. Momcilovic spent his first three college seasons at Iowa State. The 6-foot-8 wing turned into the best shooter in college basketball during his junior campaign in 2025-26. He connected on 48.7 percent of his three-pointers with high volume. It led to him landing a spot on an All-Big 12 Team. That came with plenty of NBA buzz.
Momcilovic’s size and shooting made him an interesting draft candidate. Once the offseason hit, he put his name into the portal while also entering the NBA Draft. But from that moment on, his sole focus was always on going pro. Along with the NBA Draft Combine interviews, he worked out for the likes of the Bulls, Nets, Wolves, Spurs, and a couple of other franchises.
It wasn’t until the withdrawal deadline crept closer and closer that he realized a return to college was the best option. The risk of staying in the draft and the money that would be lost (which happened to a handful of projected first-round picks who ultimately fell to the second round) wasn’t worth it in the end.
“I was focused on the draft, honestly, the whole time,” Momcilovic said. “I probably knew the last couple days that I was going to pull out of the draft. I was hearing high interest in early second round, and I could have snuck in the first round, but it wasn’t a gamble to take, obviously. So I think the decision was pretty easy to come back now with, obviously, NIL. So it was pretty easy to make that decision.
“Then I had a week, week and a half, two weeks to kind of make a decision on college. I think fans were a little eager on why I didn’t do it earlier, but I was honestly focused on the draft really the whole time.”
Momcilovic, ranked as the third-best portal prospect of the offseason, didn’t even visit any schools once he pulled his name out of the draft. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope made the biggest push and eventually earned his commitment. Now, Momcilovic’s goal is to improve his game enough in 2026-27 so that he can confidently keep his name in the draft next year.
And thanks to feedback from NBA personnel, he knows what to work on. His outside shooting is what interests teams, but his defensive flaws seemed to cancel some of that out. Living in the weight room to build his strength and agility has been a major focus for him in recent weeks.
“I’m a good, I would say average defender,” Momcilovic said. “But going into the NBA, those guys are elite at what they do.”
Momcilovic acknowledged that the NCAA’s new 5-for-5 rule provides him a “safety blanket” in the event his upcoming season doesn’t go as planned. Under the 5-for-5 guidelines, Momcilovic can technically play two more years of college ball before his eligibility runs out. But that’s a worst-case scenario right now. He plans to be preparing for the NBA this time next year.
And if that ends up coming true, it likely means Kentucky had a good season with him leading the way.
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