After a long wait, Andrija Jelavić has made it to the University of Kentucky. Expectations aren’t too high for the 6-foot-11 stretch forward from Croatia, but with two years of professional experience already under his belt, there is hope he can step in and contribute sooner rather than later for Mark Pope‘s Wildcats. The 21-year-old […]
After a long wait, Andrija Jelavić has made it to the University of Kentucky. Expectations aren’t too high for the 6-foot-11 stretch forward from Croatia, but with two years of professional experience already under his belt, there is hope he can step in and contribute sooner rather than later for Mark Pope‘s Wildcats.
The 21-year-old is coming off a 2024-25 season with Mega Superbet (Serbia) in which he posted per-game averages of 10.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 27.5 minutes while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from deep. His floor-stretching skills and feel for the game make him a natural fit for Pope’s system.
But how does Jelavić stack up against the rest of the international prospects set to begin their college basketball careers in 2025-26? Thanks to a few trustworthy international scouts, we have a better idea of where he stands.
Three well-known international recruiting social media accounts came together to create their class of 2025 international prospects big board. They ranked the top 50 foreign players who are about to embark on their college journeys. Checking in at 20th overall was Jelavić, with one of the three voters ranking him as high as 13th. Using another reference, 247Sports recently tabbed Jelavić at 19th in its 2025 international player rankings.
For those who follow college basketball closely, there will be some familiar names up and down this list.
Washington center Hannes Steinbach (No. 1) is coming off an excellent run with Germany at the U19 FIBA World Cup earlier in the summer and has high expectations with the Huskies. Duke guard Dame Sarr (No. 3) is a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Louisville has a couple of guys in the top 20, as well: 6-foot-11 Sananda Fru (No. 8) and 6-foot-8 Vangelis Zougris (No. 22). A handful of Jelavić’s former teammates also cracked the list, including Illinois’ Mihailo Petrović (No. 9) and Auburn’s Filip Jovic (No. 11).
Whatever Jelavić brings to the floor this season will be gravy for Kentucky. The Wildcats’ depth was already among the best in the country before he arrived on campus. But if he can step in and take on a real, productive role, Kentucky’s ceiling goes up another notch.
Category: General Sports
