WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women’s basketball head coach Katie Gearlds added to her staff this week with the hiring of Bojan Jankovic as an assistant coach. A veteran of more than 20 years of coaching in college, primarily developing post players, Jankovic arrives in West Lafayette after spending the last two seasons at South Florida.
“I’m super excited to welcome Bojan to our Purdue family,” Gearlds said. “His experience in college and the international stage will be an excellent fit for our program. We can’t wait for him to start working with our student-athletes.”
A skilled post coach, Jankovic, has reached the postseason 11 times since 2012-13. He has also spent time as an assistant coach for the Serbian Women’s Senior National Team and coaching in his native Serbia.
Jankovic wrapped up a successful two-year stint with South Florida, posting back-to-back 20-win seasons and reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Four Bulls garnered All-American Athletic Conference honors during his two years, while Mama Dembele was tabbed the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.
Prior to his time in Tampa Bay, Jankovic spent two years at Ole Miss from 2022-24, where he helped the squad break the single-season blocks record with 190. The Rebels went 49-18 with two NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the Sweet 16 in 2022-23 during his two years in Oxford.
Jankovic was an assistant coach for three seasons at Louisiana Tech from 2019-22, reaching the WNIT in 2021-22. He helped Wyoming to three WNIT bids during a four-year stop at Wyoming. He was instrumental in bringing in international talent with 10 of the 16-player roster coming from overseas during his final campaign in 2018-19.
Jankovic reached the postseason four times in five years at Oral Roberts, reaching the NCAA Tournament, two WNITs and a WBIT from 2010-15, winning the Southland Conference Tournament in 2013.
Jankovic was an assistant for three seasons and the head coach for one at Centenary College of Louisiana, prior to its transition to Division III.
Jankovic got his start as an assistant coach for the University of the Ozarks men's basketball program, where he worked primarily with the post players during the 2005-06 season.
From 2013-17, Jankovic served as an assistant coach on the Serbian Women's Senior National Team. During his time with Serbia, Jankovic helped his homeland to win its first-ever pair of women's basketball medals. In 2015, Serbia claimed gold at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then on the world's biggest stage, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Jankovic and Serbia earned a Bronze medal with a 70-63 win against France. He was also the head women's basketball coach of the U20 Serbian National team at the 2022 FIBA U20 Women's European Championship (Hungary). The U20 team went on to finish eighth in the semifinals of the event.
Jankovic also held an assistant coach position with Radnicki Basketball Club (men's) in Serbia for five years (1999-04) and served as the head coach for the U18 team. In Europe, Jankovic had the opportunity to work with Igor Koskov, who is currently an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA.
Jankovic began his playing career with Belgrade Basketball Club (1983-93) in Serbia and played for Radnicki Basketball Club (1993-95) before coming to the United States. He spent his collegiate years at Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisc., where he led the team to the 1996 National Small College National Championship. In 1997-98 he played for Avtodoroznik in the Russian Pro League. Jankovic earned his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from the University of the Ozarks in 2006.
He is married to Bojana and has two children, Anja and Vuk.