Montenegrin forward Maksim Brnović commits to Arizona

Montenegrin forward Maksim Brnović has committed to the Arizona Wildcats, according to Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony.

Arizona later confirmed the signing.

The 6-foot-10 18-year-old is the latest addition through Tommy Lloyd’s Lithuanian pipeline.

Brnović most recently played for Lithuanian pro team Žalgiris’ developmental squad, the same club current Wildcats Motiejus Krivas and Ugnius Jarusevicius played for and former Wildcat standout Ąžuolas Tubelis currently plays for.

Brnović turned 18 on May 20 and has been at Žalgiris since the summer of 2024. He has played in the second and third division in Lithuania and became the first non-Lithuanian to captain Žalgiris’ youth team.

Playing in Lithuania’s second tier in 2025-26, Brnović averaged 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 blocks, 0.6 steals and 1.1 turnovers in 24.1 minutes per game (34 contests). He shot 54.5% on 2s, 29.8% on 3s and 69.1% at the line.

Last year, Brnović helped Žalgiris win the Adidas Next Generation Tournament. Over five games in this season’s iteration of the tournament (including qualifiers), Brnović averaged 15.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.2 steals and 2.0 turnovers in 28.4 minutes per game. He shot 50% on 2s, 47.6% on 3s and 72.2% at the line.

Maksim Brnović looked natural handling and passing in pick-and-roll at 6’10, while making shots from all over the floor.

The 18-year-old Montenegrin finished with 14 points and 8 assists on 1 turnover in Žalgiris’ adidas NextGen Finals win over Crvena Zvezda. pic.twitter.com/6bEPVS5uBT

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 23, 2026

At the NextGen Finals, Brnović displayed his positional versatility, athleticism and ability as a three-level scorer. He is also a very proficient facilitator, and NBA and international scouts have him as one of the top 2008-born European prospects.

Arizona is scheduled to take a trip to Lithuania in August for three exhibition games against the Ukrainian and Lithuanian national teams.

The new reported prohibitive international rules, creating an abundance of roster uncertainty for college coaches across the country, would not apply to Brnović because he only played for Žalgiris’ developmental team. Under the new rules, players who took more than room and board while playing for clubs overseas would be ineligible under NCAA regulations.

Brnović has all of his NCAA eligibility remaining and figures to be a depth piece for Arizona this upcoming season but could slide into a starting role the following season.

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