On Wednesday, the Cougars announced the addition of Austrian Aleksej Kostić.

“We’re very excited to add Aleksej to our program here at BYU,” head coach Kevin Young said. “He brings valuable experience having represented his country on the national team level. He is a high-level shooter who can play multiple positions and gives us another ball handler and play maker. We look forward to helping him take his game to another level.”

The 6-foot-4 guard is currently training with the Austrian Men’s National Team in preparation for their FIBA Men’s World Cup 2027 Qualifiers against the Netherlands and Bulgaria in early August. He made his seventh appearance for the senior team on Wednesday, scoring three points in 17 minutes of action in a friendly against Slovakia.

Kostić joins the Cougars having most recently played for Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the Austrian Basketball Superliga. According to Eurobasket, he averaged 6.5 points per game while shooting 36.3 percent from three and 83.8 percent from the free throw line. He scored in double figures 20 times, including a pair of 24-point performances helping the Lions reach the semifinals of the league playoff.

He led Austria to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B where he was the fourth-highest scorer at 19.1 points per game. He shot 47.9 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three and 81.5 percent from the free throw line. He scored in double figures in all but one game during the tournament including a 34-point outburst in the third-place game against Montenegro.

Last summer, BYU signed Russian guard Egor Demin and he ended up a lottery pick in the NBA Draft this June, taken No. 8 by the Brooklyn Nets.

Kostic joins fellow internationals Mihailo Boskovic (Serbia), Khadim Mboup (Senegal), Keba Keta (Mali) and Dominique Diomande (France) on the 2025-26 BYU roster.

Along with key returners Richie Saunders, Dawson Baker, Keita and Boskovic, the Cougars have added the No. 1 prep recruit in the country (AJ Dybantsa) as well as Kostic, Rob Wright (Baylor), Diomonde (Washington), Kennard Davis (Southern Illinois), Tyler Mrus (Idaho), Nate Pickens (UC Riverside) and freshman big man Xavion Staton.

Kostic will compete on the guard line with Saunders, Baker, Wright, Diomonde, Davis, Mrus and Pickens, who all come into the season with reputations as good shooters.

The Cougars open the 2025-26 season with a pair of exhibition games at Nebraska (Oct. 18) and at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City against North Carolina (Oct. 24).