Auburn basketball earns commitment from international prospect
By David Wasson
Published:
The Auburn basketball team continues to trend international for the 2026-27 season, as the Tigers reportedly received a commitment from Lithuanian forward Mantas Rubštavičius on Friday.
Rubštavičius, a 6-foot-6 forward who is 24 years old, delivers extensive experience via time spent in the EuroLeague, EuroCup and Lithuanian national team. He is Auburn coach Steven Pearl’s second international commitment, following 6-10 center Narcisse Ngoy from France. Draft Express reported Rubštavičius’ commitment.
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In all, Auburn is set to welcome eight new Tigers to the fold for next season. Guard Caleb Williams joins Ngoy and Rubštavičius as an incoming freshman. Auburn also got guard George Kimble III, forwards Adam Olsen and Thomas Dowd and centers Owen Freeman and Bukky Oboye from the transfer portal.
Those new Tigers join expected returnees Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton and Simon Walker. Auburn lost eight players (Keyshawn Hall, KeShawn Murphy, Elyjah Freeman, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Emeka Opurum, Kaden Magwood and Abdul Bashir) to either the portal or graduation.
Auburn missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth in Pearl’s first season replacing his father Bruce on the Tigers bench but rallied the team to a five-victory postseason run that culminated in the program’s first NIT championship. Auburn finished the season 22-16 overall and 7-11 in the SEC.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
