Mick Cronin has his guy.
Serbian FC Barcelona Bàsquet wing Nikola Kusturica committed to UCLA men’s basketball Thursday, the California Post reported.
The 17-year-old forward ranks as a five-star recruit, according to 247Sports, and serves as a significant addition to the head honcho’s 2026-27 roster.
Kusturica contemplated returning to FC Barcelona and also entertained other Division I offers from Kentucky, Gonzaga and reigning national champion Michigan, with the latter seen as the favorites until former head coach Dusty May departed Ann Arbor for the Dallas Mavericks.
While Kusturica’s transfer to UCLA has been rumored over the past several days, Kusturica waited to make any such move until after the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, where Serbia fell to Team USA in the finals, in spite of 37 points from the newest Bruin.
Despite leaving Istanbul without the title, Kusturica took the college basketball world by storm with his dominant play. The 6-foot-8 small forward averaged 24.6 points and 6.9 rebounds on 46.8% shooting from the field. Kusturica also showed his ability to dominate both ends of the court, averaging 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game as well.
Kusturica led his country to victory at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he also took home Most Valuable Player honors for his efforts, averaging 20 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game through just 25.6 minutes per contest.
Outside of his national team play, Kusturica broke numerous records for FC Barcelona, becoming the youngest player to ever play for the Spanish club in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague, also becoming the youngest player to score in the former for FC Barcelona.
Kusturica is already projected to be a lottery pick in the 2028 NBA Draft because of his athleticism, dribbling skills and touch at 6-foot-8, allowing him to attack the interior, dominate the boards and disrupt shooting and passing lanes.
The Serbian talent received high praise from his national team coach, Stevan Mijović, who dubbed the newest Bruin the “most talented player Serbia has produced in the last 20 years.”
Kusturica joins an incoming group consisting of two freshman recruits and four transfers, including Filip Jović, who played for the Serbian national team, and Sergej Macura, who represents Slovenia but also played for Serbian club KK Mega Basket alongside Jovic. UCLA also added Latvian forward Gunars Grinvalds, who played for Real Madrid of the EuroLeague.
The Bruins, under Cronin’s staff, have proven to be successful in international recruiting, previously bringing in Spanish center Aday Mara, Serbian guard Lazar Stefanovic, Turkish forward Berke Buyuktuncel and Slovenian guard Jan Vide – among others – over the last three seasons.
Assistant coach and director of international recruiting Nemanja Jovanovic, who is Serbian, has been instrumental in garnering international talent and also serves as an assistant coach for Serbia’s senior national team.
Kusturica could very well be an immediate starter in Westwood and fortify the Bruins’ wing depth – a group that was slim prior to Kusturica’s arrival. If Kusturica is an everyday starter, he will most likely start at small forward with rising junior Trent Perry and rising sophomore Jaylen Petty manning the backcourt, and rising seniors Eric Dailey Jr. and Xavier Booker filling out the frontcourt.
The Bruins have made the NCAA tournament the past two seasons and in five of the last six years, but have yet to make it past the Sweet Sixteen since the 2020-21 campaign.
CBS Sports ranked UCLA at No. 20 in its preseason rankings prior to Kusturica’s announcement.
