Jarusevicius is Second Lithuanian to Join CSUB Men's Hoops

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Another talented Lithuanian student-athlete will be heading to California's Central Valley this Fall as Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team, has welcomed Ugnius Jarusevicius to join the squad for the 2022-23 season.

"We are extremely excited to welcome Ugnius to the `Runner family," Barnes said of the 6-foot-10 forward. "We need help on the front line, and we got our guy. He is big, he is agile, and he has great ball skills."

Barnes went on to describe some more of Jarusevicius' strengths: "We love the fact that he can post on the low block, but he can also step out and make the three-pointer. We like the way our roster is filling out."

A native of Alytus, Lithuania, Jarusevicius is the fourth future Roadrunner added to the team in the past few weeks, and the second such from the Baltic country. Barnes also inked Lithuanian Modestas Kancleris and the compatriots will reunite after previously playing together in the European Youth Basketball League.

An incoming freshman, Jarusevicius will graduate from Kaunas "Varpas" Gymnasium in Lithuania before traveling to Bakersfield. The forward brings ample experience with him to Kern County as Jarusevicius has been competing as a member of the Lithuanian National Team youth system over the past three years.

In his first international campaign, the newest `Runner helped Lithuania place ninth at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship, where the squad paced the 16-country field with an average 81.7 points per game. Two years later, Jarusevicius led the U18 team at the 2021 FIBA European Challengers – the European Championship but with a new name – to a second-place finish in group play among three of the Top 10 international basketball systems in the world.

Jarusevicius averaged nine points and six rebounds a contest throughout the U18 tournament. His standout performance came during the team's 16-point victory over Greece in which Jarusevicius recorded an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double.

When not playing for the National Team, Jarusevicius spent the past two seasons as an amateur in the NKL, Lithuania's second-tier of professional basketball. The forward has played for BC Zalgiris-2, averaging 6.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per contest during the 2021-22 season. Jarusevicius' strong play earned him a call up to the country's top league, the LKL, where he played six games with Nevezis in the city of Kedainiai.

The son of Mindaugas and Ingrida Jarusevicius, Ugnius comes from strong basketball pedigree as his father, Mindaugas, also played in the LKL in his day.

Barnes continues to round out his 2022-23 roster and, with the addition of Jarusevicius, the `Runner squad is shaping up nicely. Stay tuned here at GoRunners.com and follow @CSUB_MBB on Twitter for the most up-to-date information.

~GoRunners.com~

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