Published Apr 24, 2025
Badgers strengthen front court with Lithuanian big Aleksas Bieliauskas
Seamus Rohrer  •  BadgerBlitz
Staff
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@seamus_rohrer

Wisconsin basketball continued to restock its roster Thursday afternoon, adding Lithuanian 19-year-old Aleksas Bieliauskas. The news was first reported by ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

Bieliauskas, who played for Žalgiris of Lithuania's top professional basketball league Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKR), averaged 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds on 53/40/79 shooting splits during the 2024-2025 international season.

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Bieliauskas will join the Badgers for the 2025-2026 campaign, BadgerBlitz.com has learned. His addition is a welcome one to a Wisconsin front court that still needed some reinforcements even after an impressive early haul in the transfer portal.

Head coach Greg Gard's squad saw forwards Steven Crowl, Carter Gilmore and Marcus Ilver graduate, while Xavier Amos and Chris Hodges entered the transfer portal. The portal addition of Austin Rapp, a stretch 6-foot-10 big man from Portland, was the beginning of the re-tooling process for the front court.

Bieliauskas now joins an incoming freshman class that includes fellow international prospect Hayden Jones (New Zealand) and fellow big man Will Garlock, along with guard Zach Kinziger.

At first glance, Bieliauskas is a versatile big man who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, the latter of which is an important trait Wisconsin still glaringly lacked prior to signing the Lithuanian prospect. His shooting stroke looks smooth and polished, and he's already competed at the highest level of Lithuanian basketball with a prestigious club that's produced players such as Arvydas Sabonis.

Bieliauskas' signature with the Badgers represents the program's continued efforts in overseas recruiting, spearheaded by assistant head coach Kirk Penny. It's also another symptom of Wisconsin's offensive revolution, as it continues to target and land talented scorers, especially in terms of three-point shooting.

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