Nikola Janicic Signs With UT Martin Men’s Basketball Program
4/16/2026 10:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball squad received a backcourt boost today as Nikola Janicic made his commitment to the Skyhawk program official.
Janicic will be a freshman in the fall as the 6-6, 200-pound guard spent last season at Layton Christian Academy in Layton, Utah. He shot 36 percent (35-of-96) from beyond the three-point arc and sported an impressive 2.14:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"Nikola is a player I've loved and recruited for three years now," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "To get the opportunity to coach him is absolutely phenomenal. He is a big guard who can do so many things and really contributes to winning. He can really score but also has great unselfishness and makes the right basketball play consistently."
A Skopje, North Macedonia native, Janicic is currently playing for the Paritzan Vodno Sans Skopje organization in the North Macedonian First League and brings a wealth of high-level international experience, seeing playing time in 35 FIBA games spread out over five separate events from 2022-25. He starred in the 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament held in Belgrade, Serbia, averaging 15.0 points (eighth-highest scorer in the event), 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 steals over seven contests. He scored at least 16 points in five of the seven games with a high of 21 points (including 5-of-11 shooting from three-point land) against Lithuania on July 26. He also sank five three-pointers (in eight tries) and had five steals during a 19-point effort against Serbia on July 28.
Janicic was named Most Valuable Player of the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division B tournament, leading the entire tournament in scoring (22.6 points over eight games) while also adding 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per outing at the event held in his hometown of Skopje. He dialed up at least 25 points four times with a pair of 30-point outings in the 2024 event, garnering All-Tournament team honors while leading North Macedonia to the championship victory. He scored 31 points against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 27, swishing six triples in 11 attempts while adding 30 points in the championship game against Austria on Aug. 4.
At the 2023 FIBA U16 European Championship event also held in his hometown of Skopje, Janicic averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals in seven games.
Janicic was one of just 50 players to take part in the 2025 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Oakland, Calif., winning the 3-Point Competition against some of the best players his age from 22 different countries around the world. He also participated in the exclusive 2025 NBA Academy Games held in Atlanta, Ga., suiting up for the Select Purple squad.
Before his time at Layton Christian Academy, Janicic prepped at Cooper International Academy in Ontario, Canada, where he was named Team Most Valuable Player for the 2024-25 campaign.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 22-win campaign (tied for the most victories in school history), advancing to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons. UT Martin ranked in the top-10 nationally in four separate statistical categories and checked in to the top-25 in the country in three others. Janicic is the fourth Skyhawk to sign for the 2026-27 campaign, joining Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania).
Janicic will be a freshman in the fall as the 6-6, 200-pound guard spent last season at Layton Christian Academy in Layton, Utah. He shot 36 percent (35-of-96) from beyond the three-point arc and sported an impressive 2.14:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"Nikola is a player I've loved and recruited for three years now," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "To get the opportunity to coach him is absolutely phenomenal. He is a big guard who can do so many things and really contributes to winning. He can really score but also has great unselfishness and makes the right basketball play consistently."
A Skopje, North Macedonia native, Janicic is currently playing for the Paritzan Vodno Sans Skopje organization in the North Macedonian First League and brings a wealth of high-level international experience, seeing playing time in 35 FIBA games spread out over five separate events from 2022-25. He starred in the 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament held in Belgrade, Serbia, averaging 15.0 points (eighth-highest scorer in the event), 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 steals over seven contests. He scored at least 16 points in five of the seven games with a high of 21 points (including 5-of-11 shooting from three-point land) against Lithuania on July 26. He also sank five three-pointers (in eight tries) and had five steals during a 19-point effort against Serbia on July 28.
Janicic was named Most Valuable Player of the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division B tournament, leading the entire tournament in scoring (22.6 points over eight games) while also adding 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per outing at the event held in his hometown of Skopje. He dialed up at least 25 points four times with a pair of 30-point outings in the 2024 event, garnering All-Tournament team honors while leading North Macedonia to the championship victory. He scored 31 points against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 27, swishing six triples in 11 attempts while adding 30 points in the championship game against Austria on Aug. 4.
At the 2023 FIBA U16 European Championship event also held in his hometown of Skopje, Janicic averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals in seven games.
Janicic was one of just 50 players to take part in the 2025 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Oakland, Calif., winning the 3-Point Competition against some of the best players his age from 22 different countries around the world. He also participated in the exclusive 2025 NBA Academy Games held in Atlanta, Ga., suiting up for the Select Purple squad.
Before his time at Layton Christian Academy, Janicic prepped at Cooper International Academy in Ontario, Canada, where he was named Team Most Valuable Player for the 2024-25 campaign.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 22-win campaign (tied for the most victories in school history), advancing to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons. UT Martin ranked in the top-10 nationally in four separate statistical categories and checked in to the top-25 in the country in three others. Janicic is the fourth Skyhawk to sign for the 2026-27 campaign, joining Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania).
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