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Cal Forward Rytis Petraitis to Enter Transfer Portal

Rytis Petraitis was a starter for Cal in 2024-25, but an injury limited him this past season
Jake Curtis|
Rytis Petraitis
Rytis Petraitis | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Cal forward Rytis Petraitis has another year of college eligibility after missing most f the 2025-26 season with an injury, but apparently he won't spend that extra season at Cal.

Petraitis plans to enter the transfer portal, according to Tobias Bass of The Athletic.

Petraitis becomes the third Cal player to enter the transfer portal, joining Cal's top two players from this past season, Justin Pippen and Dai Dai Ames, in the portal.

The 6-foot-7 Petraitis spent two seasons at Cal after transferring from Air Force, and he became an important element for the team with his energy, hustle and physical play, often changing the momentum of a game with his break-neck style.

He started 29 of the 33 games he played in the 2024-25 season, averaging 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Petraitis came off the bench for the seven games he played in the 2025-26 season and averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds.

He played a major role in the Bears' 80-72 victory over then-No. 18 UCLA on November 25 at Chase Center in San Francisco. He played 21 minutes in that game and finished with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. His defense and energy were critical to that upset victory.

But that turned out to be Petraitis final; game of the season as a lower-body injury sidelined him.

There had been hope that he would return sometime this past season, but ultimately Petraitis opted to have season-ending surgery in mid-January.

He received a medical redshirt because the injury occurred in the first half of the season and he played less than 30 percent of the Bears' games. Cal finished with a 22-12 record, and it was assumed he would return to Cal for his last season of eligibility.

But he has opted to enter the transfer portal instead. It will be difficult to replace the kind of energy and hustle that Petraitis provided.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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