Mark Pope has gone international to add another piece to the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball team.
On Saturday afternoon, UK got a commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 Croatian big man.
ESPN first reported Jelavic’s commitment to Kentucky.
Jelavic — a power forward who will turn 21 years old in May — is considered one of the top European prospects opting to play college basketball.
Jelavic has played the last two seasons for Mega MIS, also known as Kosarkaski klub Mega Basket and Mega Superbet, a professional team based in Serbia. This season, the versatile Jelavic is averaging 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals for Mega MIS across 23 games played. He’s shooting 50.3% from the field and 32.3% on a significant volume of 3-pointers attempted.
Jelavic — who boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan and solid floor-spacing principles on offense — has played in 53 games for Mega MIS, which plays in the AdmiralBet ABA League. He also has past playing experience with several Croatian youth national teams.
Assuming that Jelavic suits up in a game for the Wildcats next season, he would be the second player from Croatia to play college basketball at UK. The other, of course, is Zvonimir Ivisic, who played one season at Kentucky for John Calipari before following Calipari to Arkansas last year via the transfer portal.
Ivisic will be playing the 2025-26 season at Illinois alongside his twin brother, Tomislav, a player that Kentucky faced in the NCAA Tournament last season.
New UK men’s basketball player Andrija Jelavic is set to become the second Croatian to suit up for the Wildcats. FIBA
What does Andrija Jelavic commitment mean for UK basketball roster?
With the addition of Jelavic, there are now 12 projected scholarship players on next season’s Kentucky team.
This projection includes the five possible returnees from last season’s UK squad that reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Pope’s first season as head coach. Those players are freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.
Kentucky has already announced four additions via the NCAA transfer portal for next season. Those players are former Alabama sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate, former Pittsburgh sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, former Arizona State freshman big man Jayden Quaintance and former Tulane freshman wing Kam Williams.
The Wildcats will also be bringing in two freshmen via the traditional high school recruiting route for the 2025-26 season. Those players are left-handed guard Jasper Johnson and in-state center Malachi Moreno, who recently won a Sweet 16 state championship with Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School.
Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American this year. Both Johnson and Moreno are top-30 recruits nationally.
Kentucky recently lost a high school recruit who was set to be part of this 2025 recruiting group. On Thursday night, top-30 recruit Acaden Lewis, also a left-handed guard, decommitted from the Wildcats.
Kentucky is still involved in the recruitment of high school senior Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Virginia. Ament is down to five schools in his college recruitment: Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee.
New UK men’s basketball player Andrija Jelavic has previously played for Croatia in international youth basketball competitions. FIBA
This story was originally published April 12, 2025 at 3:22 PM.
