Latvian Seven-Footer Boosts Oregon State's Frontcourt For 2026
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While Oregon State's transfer portal class has been heavy on important frontcourt pieces this spring, they added more depth at center this week.
The Beavers' men's basketball program received a commitment from seven-foot, 260-pound Latvian national Peteris Pinnis. Pinnis announced his commitment on Instagram.
Originally from Salaspils, Latvia, Pinnis turns 22 this August. After spending last season with the Big East's Providence Friars, Pinnis has three seasons of eligibility remaining. He played for the Latvian national team at the U18 and U20 level, also playing professionally for Latvian club VEF Riga for four seasons. In 2024-2025, his most recent season in Latvia, Pinnis averaged 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
At Providence, he averaged just over four minutes per game, appearing in 18 total contests. He made seven of his 13 field-goal attempts and just one of his three free throws. He also pulled down 22 rebounds with one assist, two blocks, and three steals.
In a recent interview, Pinnis described adjusting to the speed of American college basketball as arguably his biggest on-court challenge, even with a longer shot clock in the states.
"Despite it being like more time, it feels so much faster. It's harder to make decisions. It's harder to remember plays or just to keep up in that speed. That was the the biggest challenge. And yeah, I would say once I got like past that point of just feeling the game, then I finally started to progress."
As he continues to make his mark in the U.S., Pinnis noted he hopes his legacy here and in his home country will be one of excellence.
"I want to be definitely remembered in my country as a good player. I want to leave something behind that people remember. I want to set a mark in history of basketball. I want people to be aware, to know me, to have known me. And mostly I just want people to know, like remember me as a good person, as a good basketball player, and as a good teammate."
Oregon State hired Justin Joyner, a former Michigan and Saint Mary's assistant, to be the program's new head coach this spring. Since his hire, Joyner has now brought in 11 new players. Pinnis is the the third center in this group, alongside former BYU Cougar Xavion Staton and former Grand Canyon Lope Dennis Evans.
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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