Former Iowa State Cyclones star Milan Momcilovic made the difficult decision this offseason to not only declare for the 2026 NBA Draft, but also enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal as well.
It was a necessary move to allow the Cyclones to fill out their roster and not be stuck in limbo as he waited to make his decision on where he would play basketball during the 2026-27 season. Momcilovic was hoping to live out his dream and be drafted, but feedback on him hasn’t been overly positive.
Advertisement
Signs point to him returning to college basketball, where a massive payday awaits. He will almost assuredly make more money via NIL payments than he would have if he went pro.
Should he ultimately return to men’s college basketball, a new suitor has reportedly emerged for him on the transfer portal: the Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona Wildcats emerging as suitor for Milan Momcilovic
According to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, during an episode of After Dark, he revealed that Arizona is trying to make a late push for the sharpshooting forward. The reasoning being, they don’t believe one of their forwards, Koa Peat, will be coming back to Tucson.
Advertisement
“The team trying to gain ground, per my sources, is Arizona. And a big part of that is they believe they’re going to lose Koa Peat,” Goodman said.
Peat is coming off an excellent freshman campaign in which he averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Like Momcilovic, he entered his name into the 2026 NBA Draft. Unlike Momcilovic, the Wildcats are getting the impression that he will keep his name in the player pool.
That would open up a spot in their lineup, which, according to Goodman, the team would love to fill with Momcilovic.
If there was any glimmer of hope for Iowa State fans that Momcilovic could find his way back to Ames after Jackson Kiss, a four-star player in the Class of 2026, decommitted and flipped to the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to open up a scholarship spot, the Wildcats getting into the mix likely bursts that bubble.
Advertisement
It would be hard to envision the Cyclones winning a bidding war for Momcilovic, given the additions they have already made to the roster this offseason, adding five new players in the transfer portal.
Alas, seeing their former star suit up for a Big 12 rival would certainly sting. However, this development will hurt Kentucky Wildcats backers even more.
The SEC powerhouse looked to be in the driver’s seat for Momcilovic if he decided to return to school, but it sounds as if they now have some work to do to secure a commitment from him.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa-state as Milan Momcilovic Reportedly Has New College Suitor Emerging.
