Wisconsin men's basketball lands Lithuanian big man Aleksas Bieliauskas
Aleksas Bieliauskas commits to the Wisconsin basketball program, giving the Badgers frontcourt a skilled international big man to develop for the future.
The Wisconsin basketball program's pursuit of another frontcourt piece took them halfway across the globe—and they may have just found their answer in Lithuanian big man Aleksas Bieliauskas.
It’s not hard to see why the Badgers made the move to add Bieliauskas.
Standing 6-foot-9 with a fairly polished offensive skill set and valuable international experience, Bieliauskas committed to Wisconsin after drawing interest from several high-major college basketball programs, including Kansas.
The 19-year-old forward played this past season for Zalgiris II, the developmental team for one of Europe’s most storied basketball clubs, averaging 11.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and one block per game while connecting on 40% of his 3-point attempts and 53.4% of his twos.
That kind of inside-out scoring—paired with his physicality, rebounding, and above average mobility—checked a lot of boxes for a Wisconsin team that continues to evolve its roster's offensive identity.
But this is about more than just production or potential. It’s about fit, philosophy, and the bigger picture.
Bieliauskas brings international pedigree and versatility to a frontcourt that has seen major turnover this offseason. Four-year starter Steven Crowl graduated. So did Carter Gilmore. Xavier Amos transferred out. Chris Hodges? Gone. All told, Wisconsin lost a substantial chunk of its experience and depth in the post and needed to bring in some help.
Greg Gard and his coaching staff moved quickly to stabilize things. The addition of 6-foot-10 Portland transfer Austin Rapp—a floor-stretching, playmaking forward with a high ceiling—was the first domino. Bieliauskas now becomes the second frontcourt addition this spring—in a move that brings more size, more shooting, and more versatility to the forward spot.
What separates Bieliauskas is the blend. He’s not just a shooter who hangs out on the perimeter—he’s just as comfortable asserting himself inside. In a season-best 27-point performance against Jurbarko Jurbarkas-Karys back in March, he flashed the whole package: touch around the basket, well-timed rim runs, and the ability to step out and knock down threes.
He plays through contact, rebounds in traffic, and gives you some rim protection. There's a lot to like about his game.
He’s not a finished product. But he doesn’t need to be. Wisconsin isn’t asking him to walk in and replace Crowl or play 30 minutes per night. But there are still meaningful minutes to replace off the bench—the ones vacated by Gilmore and Amos—and Bieliauskas will be a strong candidate to step in and claim them.
This is about creating matchup flexibility and long-term development. It’s about giving returning cornerstone Nolan Winter—a 7-footer who started all 37 games last year and shot better than 35% from deep—another frontcourt option who complements his game and can get him a breather when needed.
Bieliauskas also fits with what Wisconsin is building stylistically.
The Badgers have quietly leaned into a modern, international-influenced European ball screen system. Spacing, shooting, and decision-making now matter more than ever in Gard’s offense. And if you’re watching closely, you can see Kirk Penney’s fingerprints all over these offseason roster additions.
The staff’s work in international recruiting has taken center stage.
"If there's an agent involved with the European player, which there is a lot of times. It's very professional," Penney said. "They're used to having players that are older. Here's my player, here's the team, there is a conversation, here's a contract. Let's go. It is quite transactional."
Bieliauskas is the second international addition to the roster in the class of 2025, joining New Zealand guard Hayden Jones. And it’s worth noting that Rapp, an offseason portal pickup that transferred in from Portland, hails from Australia—another example of the Badgers casting a wider net globally to build a team.
Last offseason, the Badgers signed Serbian big Andrija Vukovic (who never enrolled due to earning low Duolingo English scores) and added Italian center Riccardo Greppi. In the 2026 recruiting class, they’ve already secured a commitment from New Zealand guard Jackson Ball.
That’s not a fluke. That’s a trend.
Add in Virginia transfer Andrew Rohde, San Diego State’s Nick Boyd, Tulsa guard Braeden Carrington, Middleton big man Will Garlock, and four-star combo guard Zach Kinziger from De Pere, and this is shaping up to be the most aggressive roster overhaul in Gard’s tenure.
It also comes at a time when Wisconsin still has room to add more. As of right now, the Badgers have some open scholarships to play with if they want—and while the original plan was to keep a pair of walk-ons, that could change.
With NCAA roster limits changing, schools now have the option to put every player on scholarship. And Wisconsin is open to doing just that if the right situations present themselves. But flexibility is key.
In the meantime, the Badgers now have another skilled big with a track record of production in one of Europe’s top developmental basketball programs. Bieliauskas brings shooting, positional rebounding, toughness, and room to grow—literally and in terms of projection.
Most importantly, Bieliauskas brings an intriguing upside if everything breaks right. That’s the currency Wisconsin is heavily investing in right now.
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The thing I liked about college basketball was having local kids playing for the school. What’s the point of college sports when it’s just like pro ball with free agents and international players?