Aleksas Bieliauskas, Wisconsin’s most significant transfer portal departure, has found a new home a little over a week after saying goodbye to Madison.
According to a report from DraftExpress’s Jonathan Givony, Bieliauskas has committed to play for South Carolina.
Bieliauskas will have three years of eligibility left with the Gamecocks, and the 20-year-old Lithuanian stretch big guy had a good debut season of American collegiate basketball in Madison.
Bieliauskas’ Brief Wisconsin Career
Bieliauskas was first expected to be a bench forward for Wisconsin. However, fellow rookie and then-starter Austin Rapp’s early-season problems pushed Bieliauskas into the starting lineup on Dec. 3, seven games into the season.
Off the bench, Bieliauskas was almost an afterthought. In four of the seven games in which he was not a starter, he was scoreless. But after cracking the top five, the forward averaged 5. 3 points and 4. 4 rebounds, with a remarkable 36. 6% three-point percentage the rest of the way.
Those statistics will not impress you, but Bieliauskas had an incredible knack for getting red hot from beyond the arc. Despite the fact that he was not an aggressive shooter the great majority of the time, he did have a few odd performances.
The first was Wisconsin’s tremendous triumph over Michigan on January 10, in which he made five important 3-pointers and scored 17 points. In the final game of the regular season, Bieliauskas made four of five 3-pointers in Mackey Arena to help beat Purdue.
Regardless, the Badgers had higher retention goals in their frontcourt. Despite the Lithuanian’s strong rookie season, Wisconsin preferred Nolan Winter (who has already re-signed) and Austin Rapp (who has just returned). And with the Badgers working on a restricted NIL budget, Bieliauskas most likely got the short end of the stick.
How can Bieliauskas assist South Carolina?
Bieliauskas joins the Gamecocks’ program in South Carolina, which has had significant struggles in recent seasons. They finished 13-19 in 2025-26 and 12-20 the year before. They have only made one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine seasons.
Bieliauskas’ three-point ability is a significant addition for the Gamecocks, who finished 319th in three-point percentage last season. He joins Camden Heide, who relocated to South Carolina from Texas, as frontcourt reinforcements for Columbia.
