Auburn Inks Lithuanian Forward for 2026 Roster

It has been quite an interesting offseason for the Auburn Tigers, who have seen quite a bit of roster turnover over the past few months. However, Steven Pearl has worked quite hard to rebuild his team in a fashion that he thinks will bring the Tigers success, and on Friday, Lithuanian guard Mantas Rubštavičius announced he would be committing to Auburn.

Nathan King of 247Sports was first to the news.

BREAKING: Lithuanian pro Mantas Rubštavičius has committed to Auburn.

The 24-year-old wing scorer should be the final piece to the Tigers' 2026-27 roster https://t.co/ilhrqyubwG pic.twitter.com/GCxbnqquua
— Nathan King (@NathanKing247) May 15, 2026

Rubštavičius, a former overseas pro, has played for the NZ Breakers in Australia’s NBL, Lietkabelis in the EuroCup and Zalgiris in the Euro League. He originally began his professional career in Lithuania.

Rubštavičius represents the third overseas player to commit to the Tigers in the last two seasons, joining Filip Jović, who transferred to UCLA this past offseason after just one year with the Tigers, and Narcisse Ngoy, a french pro player who committed to the Tigers this past offseason.

Rubštavičius represents the fifth major transfer for the Tigers in this offseason, joining former Big Ten Freshman of the Year forward Owen Freeman, 7-foot-1 Santa Clara transfer Bukky Oboye, Vanderbilt shooting guard transfer George Kimble, South Alabama transfer Adam Olsen and Thomas Dowd, who led the Sun Belt in rebounds in 2026.

The Tigers have also been working in recruiting, landing the aforementioned Narcisse Ngoy, a French seven-footer with professional basketball experience, as well as Caleb Williams, a three-star shooting guard in the class of 2026.

The Tigers are set to look completely different in 2026, as they have lost top talent like Sebastian Williams-Adams, who committed to Vanderbilt, Filip Jović, who committed to UCLA and Kaden Magwood, a former four-star recruit who has yet to find a new home. Additionally, the Tigers have lost Emeka Oporum, a high-upside center who missed most of the 2025 season with injury.

The Tigers are still set to keep some top talent, though, as standout sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford has announced his intent to stay on the Plains, joining NIT MOP Kevin Overton as the Tigers’ two big-time keeps.

Despite the heavy roster shakeup, though, Auburn appears poised for a strong season with the roster building that Steven Pearl has been doing over the last few months. However, the team will need to build some chemistry this offseason, as much like last year, few of these players have played on the same roster before.

If Pearl can get all of these new acquisitions, as well as the returners, on the same page and working as a unit, the Tigers appear to have a roster that could make a deep push into the NCAA Tournament, even in its new expanded format.

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