Gators Basketball Adds Another International Forward to 2026-27 Roster
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators men's basketball program on Monday announced another international addition to the 2026-27 roster in Slovenian forward Domen Petrovic. Petrovic is now the second international addition to Florida's roster after the Gators signed Lithuanian forward Arturas Butajevas on April 27.
"We are really excited to welcome Domen into our program," head coach Todd Golden said in the announcement. "He is a very skilled forward that has great positional size. He has shown incremental improvement every year, and he's currently playing the best basketball of his young career. He is a high-achiever both on and off the court and will help us continue to raise the bar here at Florida!"
welcome to the orange and blue
- Florida Gators Men's Basketball (@GatorsMBK) May 4, 2026
https://t.co/YmU1wS1YX2@Fl_Victorious | @d1petrovicpic.twitter.com/bnS3sw99Si
The 22-year-old Petrovic (6-9) is coming off a season in which he averaged 16.6 points and shot nearly 40 percent from deep with GGD Šenčur in Slovenia's top professional basketball league. While he comes to Florida with international professional experience, he is also familiar with Florida's roster.
Petrovic was teammates with current UF guard Urban Klavžar for Team Slovenia at the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as Slovenia finished with a silver medal at the event. He also helped Slovenia finish fourth in the 2022 U18 European Championship, where he averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Petrovic is now the fourth newcomer to Florida's roster for next season and helps solidify the Gators' frontcourt as it awaits an NBA Draft decision from star center Rueben Chinyelu. Joining Petrovic and Arturas are 7-foot true freshman center Jones Lay and transfer guard Denzel Aberdeen, who previously played at Florida for three seasons before transferring to Kentucky.
Aberdeen is currently waiting on a decision from the NCAA regarding a waiver for another year of eligibility. Chinyelu, meanwhile, entered the NBA Draft while retaining the option to return to Florida for his senior season. Already invited to the NBA Draft Combine, Chinyelu has until May 27 to decide on returning to Florida or not.
Golden expressed confidence that Aberdeen would receive his fifth year of eligibility while holding out hope that Chinyelu, who is currently projected as a second-round pick, would return to Florida. Golden also said that Florida is "prepared to pivot" if Chinyelu ultimately remains in the draft.
Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/florida as Gators Basketball Adds Another International Forward to 2026-27 Roster.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM.