With next year's Nebraska basketball team seeming set, the Tuesday morning entry into the Transfer Portal of Ugnius Jarusevicius has to be considered a shock, at least for Husker fans. Until the moment of his announcement, it certainly seemed he was someone the Huskers could look forward to seeing after an injury robbed him of all but one game in the 2025-26 season.
Instead, the power forward who was considered a scoring threat when he arrived in Lincoln from Central Michigan decided to see if the grass was greener somewhere else. That he did it on the last day players can enter the portal indicates there were talks to keep him around that broke down in the final hours.
Ugnius Jarusevicius shocks Nebraska basketball fans with portal depatures
The surprise of Tuesday morning comes from comments all offseason that seemed to take for granted he was returning. Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg said earlier this season that NU would explore a medical hardship waiver for "Uggy" to return in 2026-27. Jarusevicius had also already said publicly that he wanted to return to Nebraska next season.
The Lithuanian native made noticeable progress in his recovery after recently seeing a new back injury specialist. However, Hoiberg told HuskerOnline after the season that Jarusevicius still had a long road ahead before returning to the court.
Nebraska basketball still saw a long rehab ahead
"He’s still in the rehab process right now with the program that was laid out to him, and he’s making progress," Hoiberg said. "But there are still steps and hurdles to clear before he’s able to get back on the floor."
It's possible the big man didn't believe the Huskers werre allowing him to move forward as quickly as he thought he could. Nebraska has, in the past, lost out on recruits and prospects because of medical issues they felt were more serious than the players did.
Jarusevicius joins Berke Buyuktuncel, Quentin Rhymes, and Justin Bolis as Nebraska's transfer departures. Both Buyuktuncel and Jarusevicius were expected to be key contributors next season. The Huskers have added portal commitments from Sam Orme, Trevan Leonhardt, Boden Kapke, and Kadyn Betts.
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