Matas Vokietaitis

Matas Vokietaitis
No. 8 – Texas Longhorns
PositionCenter
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2004-11-05) November 5, 2004
Marijampolė, Lithuania
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
College
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2024Žalgiris Kaunas
2021–2023→BC Žalgiris-3
2022–2024→BC Žalgiris-2
Career highlights
  • AAC Freshman of the Year (2025)

Matas Vokietaitis (born November 5, 2004) is a Lithuanian college basketball player for the Texas Longhorns of the Southeastern Conference.

Early life and career

Vokietaitis was born in Marijampolė, Lithuania and early in his career mostly played for the reserve teams of Žalgiris Kaunas: BC Žalgiris-3 of the Regional Basketball League and BC Žalgiris-2 of the National Basketball League.[1] On 17 March 2024, Vokietaitis debuted in the senior Žalgiris Kaunas team during a Lithuanian Basketball League game versus the Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys and scored five points, grabbed two rebounds, and blocked one shot.[2]

College career

Freshman season

In May 2024, Vokietaitis committed to the Florida Atlantic University and in the 2024–2025 NCAA season played for the Florida Atlantic Owls.[3][4] Vokietis played in all 34 games for the Owls and was a part of the starting five in 20 games, his averages were 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 0.3 assists, 0.2 steals per game.[4][5][6] In the 2025 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament the Owls were eliminated 83–76 in the quarterfinal by the Tulane Green Wave.[7] Vokietaitis was named the American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year.[4][8] His successful freshman season attracted attention from other higher ranking universities of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.[9]

Sophomore season

In April 2025, Vokietaitis during the NCAA transfer portal committed to the University of Texas and in the 2025–26 NCAA season played for the Texas Longhorns, where his playing time and statistical numbers per game further increased.[6][10] On 5 November 2025, he debuted as a Longhorns member versus the Duke Blue Devils and as a starter recorded 15 points, eight rebounds, one block, but his team lost 60–75.[11] On 9 December 2025, he scored his NCAA career-high 28 points.[12]

In the First Four round 68–66 win against the NC State Wolfpack, Vokietaitis recorded 15 points and eight rebounds.[13] In the first round of the 2026 NCAA tournament, he recorded 23 points, 16 rebounds (including a (NCAA career-high nine offensive rebounds), one assist, and one block, leading to a 79–71 upset victory versus the 6-seed BYU Cougars led by AJ Dybantsa.[14][15][16] Vokietaitis became the first in Longhorns history to record at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game.[16] In the Round of 32, the Longhorns had another 74–68 upset victory against the 3-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs, with Vokietaitis recording 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. In a post-game press conference, Vokietaitais said "I don't care who I'm playing against. I just try to play hard, with confidence. In my eyes, I'm the best center in the league. That's the key to play like that", while his head coach Sean Miller added that "he has really done an amazing job here".[17] In the Sweet Sixteen buzzer beater 77–79 loss against the 2-seed Purdue Boilermakers, Vokietaitis recorded nine points, two rebounds, and one block.[18][19]

National team career

Vokietaitis played for the Lithuania men's national under-18 team and the under-20 teams.[4][20] His best performance statistically in the FIBA's youth tournaments was in the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket where he averaged 11.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game, but Lithuania was eliminated 87–82 in the quarterfinal by Greece.[20][21]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2024–25 FAU 342017.6.677-.6365.40.30.20.810.2
2025–26 Texas 363626.0.619-.6697.10.60.20.915.6
Career 705621.9.641-.6586.30.50.20.813.0

Personal life

Vokietaitis is fluent in Lithuanian, English, and Russian.[4] His mother Neringa Vokietaitienė played basketball and represented the Lithuania women's national basketball teams in age-restricted youth tournaments.[4] He wears number eight in recognition of his father Algirdas' birthday (8 July).[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Matas Vokietaitis". Nklyga.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Matas Vokietaitis". LKL.lt. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "19-metis „Žalgirio" talentas keliasi į NCAA". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Matas Vokietaitis". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Matas Vokietaitis". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. 18 January 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Matas Vokietaitis Career Stats". ESPN.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "2025 MBB Championship Bracket (PDF)" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  8. ↑ "American Athletic Conference Announces 2024-25 Men's Basketball Awards". American Athletic Conference. 19 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Lietuvos žvaigždutė Teksase: milijono tema, geležinis režimas ir NBA skautų dėmesys". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Texas Longhorns Land 7-Footer Matas Vokietaitis From Transfer Portal". Sports Illustrated. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "Duke 75-60 Texas (Nov 4, 2025) Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Jones, Thomas (9 December 2025). "Texas basketball: Career night from Matas Vokietaitis keys Longhorns' win over Southern". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Bromberg, Nick (18 March 2026). "Let the Madness begin: Texas beats NC State on Tramon Mark's game-winner with 1 second left". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "„Kovo beprotybėje" – monstriškas lietuvis, nuliūdinęs projektuojamą NBA žvaigždę". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Kirschenbaum, Alex (20 March 2026). "Dybantsa Eliminated, Sexton, Scottie, Other Bulls Bullets". Bleachernation.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Men's Basketball defeats BYU, 79-71, in NCAA First Round". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "„Kovo beprotybėje" vėl žibėjęs Vokietaitis nesikuklino: „Mano akyse – esu geriausias"". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "Paskutinių sekundžių dramoje kritęs Vokietaitis baigė žygį „Kovo beprotybėje"". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  19. ↑ "3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Dramatic Loss vs. Purdue". Sports Illustrated. 27 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Matas Vokietaitis". FIBA. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  21. ↑ "Matas Vokietaitis - FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024". FIBA. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.