Andrija Jelavic want to take Kentucky to the next level.

Mark Pope searched far and wide to try and land players for the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball team, and one diamond in the rough he found was Croatian power forward Andrija Jelavic. The 6’11 forward has been playing in one of the best leagues in Europe, which is a big reason why Big Blue Nation believes he will be successful in college hoops.

Some believe Jelavic could be the wildcard for this Kentucky team because his upside is one of the highest on the team. Jelavic has the ability to develop into one of the best power forwards in college basketball and make himself a first-round pick

The part about the game of Jelavic that is so exciting to Kentucky fans is that his professional experience will help him be ready for SEC basketball. This is why the floor for the power forward seems like a serviceable big man in the SEC. That would be the worst-case scenario for Jelavic.

Jelavic is not yet on campus, but many anticipate him getting to Lexington in the coming weeks. This means he will have to quickly learn the Pope offense as the season is approaching quickly.

Once Jelavic does get to campus, he will be competing with the Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate for the starting spot at power forward.