EA7 Emporio Armani Milan has signed point guard RJ Cole, bringing in one of the top offensive guards from the Italian league after his strong 2025-26 season with Reyer Venezia. The club announced the agreement on Wednesday, July 8, adding the 1.85-meter guard to a revamped backcourt.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to play for such an historical team like Olimpia Milano,” Cole said in the club’s announcement. “I’m deeply humbled and grateful for being able to achieve another goal of mine since I started my professional career. I can’t wait to go out there with the other players and play with the passion and the fight that the fans deserve.”
Cole arrives in Milan after averaging 16.6 points and 5.1 assists per game in the 2025-26 Italian League with Venezia. He also made his EuroCup debut, averaging 12.2 points and 4.9 assists per game, establishing himself as a reliable creator and scorer.
The 26-year-old guard replaces some of the backcourt production lost after Milan moved on from Nico Mannion, Armoni Brooks and Quinn Ellis. Brooks led Milan in EuroLeague scoring last season at 13.1 points per game while shooting 41.6% from three-point range, while Ellis averaged 8.2 points and 4.5 assists in 36 appearances.
Cole’s career path includes a standout college run at Howard University and University of Connecticut. At Howard, he was named MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2018 after averaging 23.7 points and 6.1 assists per game. He followed that with a conference Player of the Year campaign in 2018-19, averaging 21.4 points and 6.7 assists.
After transferring to UConn, Cole averaged 12.2 points and 4.3 assists in 2020-21 before earning Big East first-team honors in 2021-22 after producing 15.8 points and 4.1 assists per game. Both seasons ended with NCAA Tournament appearances.
Cole began his professional career in 2022 with Lavrio B.C., averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 assists before moving to Basketball Lowen Braunschweig, where he posted 14.1 points and 4.9 assists per game.
He later joined Rytas Vilnius, helping the team win the Lithuanian championship in his first season while averaging 10.3 points and 3.9 assists domestically and 9.7 points and 5.0 assists in Basketball Champions League. In his second season with Vilnius, he increased his production to 15.1 points and 3.9 assists in the competition.
Milan is continuing a significant roster reshaping after finishing 14th in the 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season with a 17-21 record. The club has already added Alec Peters, Jason Burnell, Devon Hall, Nicola Akele and Darius Thompson while moving away from several previous contributors.
