‘A really unique combination.’ What is UK basketball getting in Andrija Jelavic?
What, exactly, is Kentucky basketball getting in European power forward Andrija Jelavic?
Mark Pope helped answer that question Monday morning, when UK officially announced the addition of Jelavic for the 2025-26 season.
“Andrija is a really skilled, athletic, mobile, veteran player who has been playing at a high level for the last two years,” Pope said in a UK news release announcing the addition of Jelavic.
Earlier this spring, the Wildcats got a surprise commitment from Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 big man from Croatia.
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.
For the last two seasons, Jelavic has played for Mega MIS, also known as Kosarkaski klub Mega Basket and Mega Superbet, a professional team based in Serbia.
“He’s been mentored through the development program at Mega, which is one of the best development centers for great players in Europe,” Pope added about Jelavic. “Andrija has a really unique combination of size, athleticism and skill that will translate seamlessly into our system.”
Jelavic has averaged 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per contest for Mega in the AdmiralBet ABA League, also known as the Adriatic League. This season, that includes six double-doubles in 26 games played.
“When we did our Zoom, you could see the emotion on his face of how much Kentucky means to him and that he cannot wait to wear a Kentucky jersey,” Pope said.
Jelavic — who boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan and solid floor-spacing principles on offense — also has past playing experience with several Croatian youth national teams.
Jelavic is set to become the second player from Croatia to play basketball at UK. The other, of course, is ex-Cat Zvonimir Ivisic, who spent the 2023-24 season at Kentucky and the 2024-25 season at Arkansas with ex-UK coach John Calipari.
(Ivisic transferred again this offseason to Illinois, where his twin brother, Tomislav, plays.)
What does Kentucky’s roster look like for next season?
Kentucky has 13 projected scholarship players for next season.
Kentucky’s 2025-26 roster is expected to include four returnees from last season’s UK squad. Those players are freshmen guard Collin Chandler, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.
Oweh has declared for the 2025 NBA draft while keeping open his option to return to Kentucky for his senior college season.
Freshman guard Travis Perry entered the transfer portal just hours before the deadline to do so. On Sunday, Perry announced that he will be playing next season at Ole Miss. Previously, fifth-year guard Kerr Kriisa transferred from Kentucky to Cincinnati.
UK has already announced the additions of five players from the transfer portal this spring. Those future Cats are junior guard Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), sophomore guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), freshman big man Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State) and freshman wing Kam Williams (Tulane).
Also on Monday, former Lexington Catholic High School star Reece Potter committed to the Wildcats out of the transfer portal. Potter spent his first two college seasons at Miami (Ohio).
Kentucky will be bringing in at least three first-year players next season. Those players are Jelavic, guard Jasper Johnson and in-state center Malachi Moreno. Both Johnson and Moreno are arriving via the traditional high school recruiting pathway.
Johnson is a left-handed guard and the No. 18 national recruit in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American and Sweet 16 state champion this year.
Former high school recruit and UK signee Acaden Lewis, a guard, decommitted from Kentucky this spring and will instead be playing next season at Villanova.
Kentucky is still involved in the high school recruitment of Braydon Hawthorne, a four-star small forward from West Virginia. Hawthorne, who was previously signed to play at West Virginia, has already taken a recruiting visit to UK.
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 10:56 AM.
