Mark Pope, the head coach of Kentucky basketball, has faced considerable criticism regarding his recruiting efforts and how he assembles his roster particularly his struggles to secure elite high school prospects or top-tier college players through the transfer portal.
However, Pope recently landed one of the top prospects in the 2027 high school class, shortly after adding Milan Momcilovic, a transfer from Iowa State. The sharpshooting big man was widely considered one of the best if not the single best players available in the portal.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf published an article ranking the biggest winners of the 2026 transfer portal cycle. Borzello placed Kentucky at the top of his list, highlighting Momcilovic as the best individual addition.
In Borzello’s view, Momcilovic was the No. 1 player in his transfer rankings the top shooter in college basketball and a proven all-conference performer at the high-major level. There’s no uncertainty about how his offensive game will translate: at 6-foot-8, he led the nation in three-point percentage (48.7%) and tied for third in made threes per game (3.7).
Throughout his coaching career, Mark Pope’s most effective offenses have relied on high-volume success from beyond the arc a system that perfectly suits Momcilovic.
Incoming transfer point guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins excel at attacking defenses off the dribble, which should create plenty of open looks for Momcilovic from deep. His commitment gives Kentucky a clear focal point on offense and has already elevated the Wildcats into the top 20 of ESPN’s latest Way-Too-Early Top 25.
With Momcilovic on board, Kentucky is in a far stronger position heading into next season, and the team is already working to build chemistry in practice.
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