Florida basketball added forward/center Arturas Butajevas to its 2026-27 roster, coach Todd Golden announced on Monday. The 6-foot-10-inch forward from Lithuania will join the team as an incoming freshman next fall as the Gators round out their roster.

“We are very excited to have Arturas join our program,” Golden said. “He is a physical and athletic frontcourt player that has already proven to be highly capable during both international and youth competition. He is a hard worker who will fit seamlessly within our program upon arrival. We are looking forward to him arriving and starting workouts with our team this summer.”

Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Lithuania and the Philippines at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Lithuania and the Philippines at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Spain and Lithuania at Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-8 match between Lithuania and Canada at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 6, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Arturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)1 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Lithuania and the Philippines at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)1 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Lithuania and the Philippines at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)2 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Lithuania and the Philippines at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)3 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Group A match between Spain and Lithuania at Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)4 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-8 match between Lithuania and Canada at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 6, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)5 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)6 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)7 / 8PHOTOS: Incoming Florida freshman Arturas Butajevas' U17 highlightsArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)8 / 8Florida adds frontcourt talent with Arturas Butajevas' commitmentArturas Butajevas, #11 of Lithuania in action during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - Turkiye 2024 Class 5-6 match between Puerto Rico and Lithuania at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)Butajevas was a standout on Lithuania's national team, averaging 13.9 points and 9.3 rebounds at the 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket before putting up 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2025-26 for Unicaja Malaga's (Spain) U22 team as a 19-year-old.

Before that, he competed in the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, in which he earned All-Star Second-Team honors after averaging 14.4 points and 11.3 rebounds. Butajevas also participated in the 2023 FIBA U16 European Championship, in which he scored 15.6 points and grabbed 9.9 rebounds per game.

The addition of Butajevas to the Orange and Blue continues the program's recent trend of seeking talent from outside of North America's borders. Current standouts Alex Condon and Urban Klavžar were originally from overseas — both plucked directly from foreign leagues — as were reserves Alex Kovatchev and Viktor Mikic. Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Chinyelu was also born abroad and arrived in Gainesville by way of Washington State.

The other foreign players brought to Gainesville during Golden's tenure were center Aleks Szymczyk (2022) from Germany and guard Kajus Kublickas (2023) from Lithuania.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball adds Lithuanian Arturas Butajevas to 2026-27 roster