Former Saint Mary's forward Paulius Murauskas, the No. 9 player in 247Sports' transfer portal rankings, has transferred to ASU, according to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz.
Following former Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett to the desert, Murauskas is ASU's biggest addition so far this offseason. Last season, the junior forward averaged a team-high 18.4 points per game on 48.2% from the field and 33.3% from distance, along with 7.6 rebounds per game, numbers that, besides the efficiencies, would have paced the Sun Devils this season.
A native of Kaunas, Lithuania, Murauskas spent three years in the LKL, Lithuania's top professional basketball league, before coming to the United States. The junior is no stranger to the area, beginning his career on the other side of the Territorial Cup rivalry with Arizona in 2023.
Murauskas appeared in only 23 games off the bench for the Wildcats before transferring to Saint Mary's, where he averaged double-digit points in consecutive seasons, starting 67 of a possible 68 games.
Murauskas instantly becomes ASU's best player following heavy roster turnover and looks to be the Sun Devils' go-to scoring option in Bennett's first year.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
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Pratham Valluri is a sports reporter at The State Press. He is a junior majoring in sports journalism with business and data analytics minors. He’s in his 5th semester with The State Press working previously as an opinion writer.
