PEORIA — The Bradley Braves have added a developmental reserve player to their roster and a new coaching talent to their basketball staff as they finish building their group for the 2026-27 season.
The Braves signed point guard Dimitrije Pavlovic over the weekend.
Head coach Brian Wardle said in late April he might bring in a 14th player from the high school ranks as a developmental project. Pavlovic seems to fit that plan.
Bradley now has 14 players on its roster for the upcoming season. The Braves have one open roster spot and two vacant scholarships, which Wardle has said he’s quite comfortable leaving open, as he really likes his team.
New rules, new terminology
The NCAA rules landscape is changing at a blur in the transfer portal and NIL era.
In April, Wardle was talking about finding a high school player to bring in as a freshman and keep as a redshirt on the roster.
Now the long-used redshirt designation appears to be going away as the NCAA Division-I board of directors has indicated a new eligibility system is coming.
The board expects to have a new rule: Players will have five years of eligibility beginning with the first regular season after age 19, or after they graduate high school, whichever comes earlier for the player.
The board stated that intention two weeks ago, and it is expected to be approved in a vote to be held in June.
That means there will no longer be any such thing as a redshirt season. A player will simply have five years of playing eligibility, and that clock won’t stop for injuries, roster status, transfers or anything else.
Wardle was anticipating that incoming BU high school prospects Race Kowalczyk and Pavlovic would likely be redshirts as freshmen. Now they will simply be referred to as developmental players and eligible to participate in any game while the staff coaches them up.
All about Dimitrije Pavlovic
Pavlovic is another big guard as the Braves have focused on building size at the position.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound freshman from Beogard, Serbia, has played in the ABA, an 18-team European pro league that includes teams from Serbia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and others in the region.
He played for Serbia’s national champion FMP under-19 team in 2025, serving as its starting point guard and generating 8.2 points per game, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 37.5% shooting from 3.
“We are very excited to welcome Dimitrije Pavlovic to the Bradley basketball family,” Wardle said. “He gives us another young guard with tremendous upside whose game complements our roster and style of play extremely well.”
Pavlovic came to the U.S. for the 2025-26 season and played at International Sports Academy’s Hoosac School AAA team in Hoosick, New York.
He averaged more than 15 points per game there, plus 6 assists per game, triggering recruiting interest from college basketball programs. Hoosac reached the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council national finals.
Pavlovic had 30 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds combined in a two-game series against Saint Thomas. He poured in 20 points, added 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a game against Redemption Christian School. And he had a 17-point game, with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, in a game against South Kent.
“He is a true point guard with a pass-first mentality who creates for others and impacts winning through his feel for the game, pace and decision-making,” Wardle said. “Those qualities, combined with his willingness to learn and be developed, make him an excellent fit for our program and the culture we have here at Bradley.”
Adding a coach to Bradley basketball staff
Malik Garner comes aboard the Bradley coaching staff as coordinator of player development and scouting.
He served as a graduate assistant on the High Point coaching staff for two seasons, then spent the 2025-26 season as a graduate assistant at Creighton under head coach Greg McDermott.
The Michigan native was a guard who played at Saginaw Valley State and then LeMoyne College. In four seasons as a player, he piled up 900 points, 200 rebounds, 300 assists and was part of three NCAA Tournament teams.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Meet the latest additions to the Bradley basketball roster, coaching staff
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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