It's easy to agree with the fact that Dusty May can do no wrong for Michigan right now. Fresh off of winning a national title, May worked overtime in the transfer portal to fill out his 2026-27 roster. It turns out he may not be done cooking with gas out on the recruiting trail after all. That's because all of a sudden, it's time for the Michigan faithful to keep a close eye on Nikola Kusturica.
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A youngster for FC Barcelona, Kusturica is ready to make the jump to the college game, and he has been heavily linked to Mark Pope and Kentucky in recent days. However, Michigan has jumped in to see if maybe the Serbian forward might have interest in making the move to Ann Arbor instead:
#Michigan in the mix for one of the top international prospects.
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) June 18, 2026
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Michigan has entered the Nikola Kusturica race, and it's bad news for Mark Pope
Things really have gotten interesting here too. Previously, 247Sports insider Travis Branham put in his Crystal Ball pick for Kentucky to sign Kusturica. However, not long after that, Branham took away that pick, with Michigan among the schools working its magic here. So, for a second it seemed like this was going to be a done deal, but now it's not for Pope.
The Kentucky head coach has been turning plenty of heads this offseason, including him landing 5-star transfer Milan Momcilovic. Pope has been spending NIL dough like crazy, but no one can blame him for that, as his job is on the line.
That's all good for him, but playing for a national championship is something every player dreams of, which is why May could end up having the upper hand here over the Wildcats. Last season, Michigan won it all, while Kentucky almost suffered a first-round loss to Santa Clara. That's something that any prospect is going to keep in mind before making a decision.
What makes Kusturica such an intriguing prospect too is that he has two years left before he becomes draft eligible. Because of that, he could either return to FC Barcelona for another season, and then head to play college ball for a year, or he could play two campaigns with his school of choice. Per Branham, the expectation is he'll play two years of NCAA ball.
With that, Michigan could greatly benefit, as he wouldn't be a one-and-done overseas player, which has become a bit of the norm. It would also give Kusturica extra time to develop his game with the Wolverines, assuming he ends up giving May the news he's hoping for. That's not going to be easy, with Pope on his grind to win this recruiting battle.
In the coming weeks, a final decision will be coming in from the touted wing, but your guess is as good as ours on where he'll end up. Through the portal, May has reeled in Moustapha Thiam, Jalen Reed, and J.P. Estrella. Adding Kusturica to the mix would be the cherry on top for May and his staff, no doubt.
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