Louisville basketball learned Monday evening that its dream portal addition, Milan Momcilovic, committed elsewhere. The Cardinals were in a fierce recruiting battle with the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arizona Wildcats, and after back-and-forth rumors, Momcilovic ultimately committed to Kentucky.
Milan Momcilovic breaks Louisville basketball hearts by picking the enemy instead
Many reporters and analysts saw this as a rivalry battle, with Kentucky and Louisville appearing to be the frontrunners over Arizona. Many thought Louisville might be making a late push, but the Wildcats ultimately landed the 5-star, and a large reason was the revealed NIL price tag.
Kentucky lands Milan Momcilovic after an eye-popping reported price tag
Louisville was one of the top spenders this offseason as Pat Kelsey had to completely rebuild his roster. The Cardinals were named a frontrunner by Jeff Goodman in the early stages of this recruiting battle, but Pope and Kentucky reportedly spent north of $6 million on Momcilovic, which explains why Kelsey and Louisville lost the battle.
Milan Momcilovic's NIL deal with Kentucky was north of $6M, per sources https://t.co/bGmWSOoFce
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 2, 2026
Kentucky will likely have one of the most expensive rosters in college basketball for the second straight season, and Pope posting him holding cards and on the beach certainly adds the pressure for his third season. Louisville definitely wanted the 5-star, but Kelsey had a limit, and Pope and Kentucky needed Momcilovic way more than the Cardinals did, which explains why the Cats spent so much on the 5-star power forward.
The Cards already have a top-10 team in the nation, so when it came to Momcilovic and his recruiting process, Louisville reportedly tried to spend a little less than Kentucky and pitch a National Title. However, it appears that didn't convince the 5-star, and now he is a Wildcat.
Another major reason Louisville likely didn't spend over $6 million on the 5-star is that they already landed 4-star transfer and 6-foot-10 power forward Alvaro Folgueiras, who ranked No. 65 overall in the Transfer Portal. The Iowa transfer is a stretch-four who shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc in his sophomore season and last year hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Florida in the NCAA Tournament.
So, Louisville’s frontcourt, of course, would have loved the boost from Momcilovic, but with a price tag of $6 million, the Cards are already confident in the roster Kelsey built. Louisville fans had that December 12 game circled already, but with Momcilovic committing to the Wildcats over Louisville, this game just got a bit more interesting.
Also read:Â Louisville's lineup even without Milan Momcilovic should still have fans dreaming big
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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