Transfer Bio Blast: Andrej Stojakovic

For the second straight offseason, 6-foot-7 wing Andrej Stojakovic is back in the transfer portal. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope recruited the talented scorer the first time around last year. Will he circle back around with a roster spot in the backcourt still to fill?

On3’s Joe Tipton reported on Thursday of Stojakovic’s intentions to hit the portal. By Friday, Stojakovic was officially in search of a new home with a “do not contact” tag. Illinois is rumored as the early favorite — he’ll have plenty of suitors. On3 ranks him as the 36th-best transfer to enter the portal so far this offseason.

Here’s everything you need to know about the possible Kentucky portal target.

The son of a Sacramento Kings legend

The last name Stojakovic is a familiar one for longtime fans of the NBA. Andrej’s father, Peja, was a three-time All-Star during his time with the Sacramento Kings (1998-06). Peja is one of the best players in Kings franchise history, having led Sacramento to eight straight postseasons from 1999-2006, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2002. Since he left, the Kings have just one playoff appearance (2023). Peja finished fourth in MVP voting for the 2003-04 season and was a member of the Dallas Mavericks team that won a championship in 2011.

Peja was a 6-foot-10, 220-pound stretch forward during his playing days — his son also likes to shoot, but isn’t as tall as the old man. Andrej checks in at 6-foot-7, 205 pounds and plays his game with the ball in his hands on the wing. He is the oldest of his three siblings and attended Carmichael (CA) Jesuit in high school, where he was considered a four-star recruit and top 25 national prospect.

From the Cardinal to the Golden Bears

A McDonald’s All-American, Stojakovic, who turns 21 in August, started his college career in the state of California at Stanford in 2023-24. He appeared in 32 games with 10 starts, posting per-game averages of 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22.3 minutes while shooting 40.9 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from deep, and 52.8 percent from the free throw line. Stojakovic reached double-figures nine times, dropping a career-high 20 points against Southern California. But his time with the Cardinal was short-lived — he jumped into the portal after his freshman season wrapped up. Stanford finished the season 14-18.

Some might remember that Kentucky and head coach Mark Pope had interest in Stojakovic last offseason. North Carolina and Michigan were also in the mix, but he ultimately stayed close to home and landed at California. He had good things to say about Pope at the time, though.

“Coach Pope’s playing style over the past couple of years at BYU is definitely intriguing,” Stojakovic told KSR+ last summer. “Just playing fast and being able to shoot a lot is something that speaks to me. … It’ll definitely be exciting to see what Coach Pope can do for the program. I don’t know much. I’ve never been to the state of Kentucky, but I’ve heard a bunch of great things about the fanbase.”

As a true sophomore with the Golden Bears, Stojakovic’s play improved, but the win total did not (14-19 finish). He more than doubled his scoring production: 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 33.4 minutes per outing. He started 28 of 29 games played on shooting splits of 42.7/31.8/81.8. Stojakovic exploded during Cal’s two ACC Tournament games, dropping 29 points in a double-overtime win over Virginia Tech and then 37 points in a five-point loss to his former school. It was enough to earn him a spot on the 2025 ACC All-Tournament Team.

Advanced Stat Profile: Andrej Stojakovic

A lot was on Stojakovic’s plate last season on a bad Cal team. He soaked up a large amount of possessions (26.8 percent usage rate) with a heavy shot diet (28.3 percent of Cal’s overall shots). Taking that into account, his percentages were respectable, but he’s still a career 32.2 percent outside shooter. Some playmaking chops helped him stay afloat offensively.

Stat	Final	Ranking
Block Percentage	3.7%	334th Nationally
Fouls Drawn Per 40 Minutes	5.2	181st Nationally
Free Throw Rate	40.9	345th Nationally

Stojakovic is long on defense and crafty offensively, but just hasn’t been able to find his shooting stroke through two seasons in college. Playing on bad teams isn’t helping. His ability to get to the rim and find his teammates for easy looks shows signs of a naturally good player. Being a second or third offensive option on a good team should allow him to up that efficiency by a significant chunk.

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