Shulman Announces Addition Of Nikas Stuknys To 2026 Skyhawk Men’s Hoops Signing Class
4/28/2026 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball program secured its seventh commitment today as Nikas Stuknys from Panevėžys, Lithuania will join the Skyhawks for the 2026-27 season.
Stuknys is a 6-7, 205-pound guard who graduated from Panevėžys Raimundas Sargūnas Sports Gymnasium. He played for BC Rytas Vilnius in the Lithuanian Basketball League under head coach Giedrius Zibenas in 2025-26, averaging 11.7 points, 7.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals over 20 games.
"Nikas is such a perfect fit here at UT Martin," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "He is an elite passer with incredible feel and basketball IQ. He can also really score in addition to creating for others. He has played at a high level in Lithuania and in FIBA events."
Stuknys scored in double figures 12 times during the 2025-26 season for BC Rytas Vilnius, including a season-best 22 points in back-to-back games (9-of-15 shooting with 10 rebounds and five assists against Kedainiai Sporto Centras on March 14, 8-for-12 shooting with eight assists against Kretinga on March 19). Overall, he was responsible for six double-doubles this past season for Stuknys, including a 13-point, season-best 15-assist effort (with six rebounds) at Vytis Sakiai on Feb. 28. He also tallied eight multi-steal performances with a season-best five swipes against Telsiai on March 12.
On an international level, Stuknys played in all seven games for Team Lithuania in the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket event held in Heraklion, Greece. In that tournament, he averaged 6.4 points, 5.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per outing, producing a 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 50 percent from three-point land and 75 percent from the charity stripe to lead his home country to a runner-up finish. He posted 10 points in the group phase against Romania on July 13 while also divvying out nine assists on three separate occasions (July 14 against Czechia, July 16 against Poland and July 20 in the finals against Italy).
Stuknys also logged seven games during the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup held in Málaga, Spain, shooting 50 percent from the floor while nailing a perfect 100 percent (5-for-5) of his free throw attempts in the tournament.
Earlier this year, Stuknys played three games in the Basketball Champions League for BC Rytas Vilnius. He additionally saw action in six games for BC Lietkabelis in the prestigious BKT EuroCup event in 2024 as well as logging three contests in the U18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in 2023.
Joining Stuknys as 2026-27 UT Martin newcomers is Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania), Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania), Nikola Janicic (Skopje, North Macedonia), Giorgi Sulaberidze (Kutaisi, Georgia) and Davi Remagen (Köln, Germany). The Skyhawks ranked in the top-10 in the country in four different statistical categories last season, tying a school record with 22 wins en route to the program's third Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals appearance in four years.
Stuknys is a 6-7, 205-pound guard who graduated from Panevėžys Raimundas Sargūnas Sports Gymnasium. He played for BC Rytas Vilnius in the Lithuanian Basketball League under head coach Giedrius Zibenas in 2025-26, averaging 11.7 points, 7.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals over 20 games.
"Nikas is such a perfect fit here at UT Martin," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "He is an elite passer with incredible feel and basketball IQ. He can also really score in addition to creating for others. He has played at a high level in Lithuania and in FIBA events."
Stuknys scored in double figures 12 times during the 2025-26 season for BC Rytas Vilnius, including a season-best 22 points in back-to-back games (9-of-15 shooting with 10 rebounds and five assists against Kedainiai Sporto Centras on March 14, 8-for-12 shooting with eight assists against Kretinga on March 19). Overall, he was responsible for six double-doubles this past season for Stuknys, including a 13-point, season-best 15-assist effort (with six rebounds) at Vytis Sakiai on Feb. 28. He also tallied eight multi-steal performances with a season-best five swipes against Telsiai on March 12.
On an international level, Stuknys played in all seven games for Team Lithuania in the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket event held in Heraklion, Greece. In that tournament, he averaged 6.4 points, 5.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per outing, producing a 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 50 percent from three-point land and 75 percent from the charity stripe to lead his home country to a runner-up finish. He posted 10 points in the group phase against Romania on July 13 while also divvying out nine assists on three separate occasions (July 14 against Czechia, July 16 against Poland and July 20 in the finals against Italy).
Stuknys also logged seven games during the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup held in Málaga, Spain, shooting 50 percent from the floor while nailing a perfect 100 percent (5-for-5) of his free throw attempts in the tournament.
Earlier this year, Stuknys played three games in the Basketball Champions League for BC Rytas Vilnius. He additionally saw action in six games for BC Lietkabelis in the prestigious BKT EuroCup event in 2024 as well as logging three contests in the U18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in 2023.
Joining Stuknys as 2026-27 UT Martin newcomers is Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania), Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania), Nikola Janicic (Skopje, North Macedonia), Giorgi Sulaberidze (Kutaisi, Georgia) and Davi Remagen (Köln, Germany). The Skyhawks ranked in the top-10 in the country in four different statistical categories last season, tying a school record with 22 wins en route to the program's third Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals appearance in four years.
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