Benet junior forward Edvardas Stasys traces his family’s roots across the Atlantic Ocean to Lithuania, a country with a rich basketball tradition.

Stasys’ father, Tomas, played basketball in Lithuania, came to the United States to attend college in the early 2000s and decided to stick around.

“Being Lithuanian is a big part of who I am,” Stasys said. “The first team I played on was a Lithuanian team. It’s a tight-knit community.”

The 6-foot-8 Stasys belongs to a tight-knit family that includes his older sister Gabby, who plays volleyball at Yale. He hasn’t visited Lithuania for several years, but his grandparents and other relatives still live there, and he’s in regular contact with them.

Then there is Stasys’  father.

“He’s always come to support me at all my games,” Stasys said. “He’s my biggest supporter.”

Stasys has plenty of supporters among his teammates, including one who hails from across the Pacific Ocean.

Senior guard Ethan MacDermot, who moved to the United States from Australia at the beginning of the summer, was impressed with Stasys right away.

“He’s quite mature and responsible,” MacDermot said. “He holds himself to a high standard.

“He’s just a great teammate, very engaging. He plays his role well. He has a real positive outcome on the team.”

Indeed, Stasys’ role has grown this season, as has his impact. He was the first or second player off the bench last season, when Benet won its first state championship.

Now Stasys is starting for the Redwings (10-1) and is averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting an impressive 63%.

“He’s really been a big part of our team,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He has the ability to run and score in transition, score around the basket.

“He’s on the glass. He’s an excellent defender. Any success we’re going to have, he’s going to be one of the main reasons.”

That was the case Thursday. Stasys made 6 of 7 shots and finished with 12 points in Benet’s 49-25 nonconference victory over Lake Forest in Lisle.

Senior guard Jayden Wright, an Eastern Illinois recruit, likes what he’s seeing from the agile big man.

“He’s getting better in every single aspect on the basketball court,” Wright said. “He’s more confident. We know he can score at the basket, but he’s doing that at an even higher level, and just his energy.

“He brings a lot to the table for us. He’s definitely a huge part of our success.”

Stasys is driven to get better, and MacDermot is witnessing the results.

“Over the summer, the entire team was in the weight room, so I feel like he’s definitely worked on that aspect,” MacDermot said. “He definitely got more athletic and stronger, which has helped him be stronger in the paint.”

Stasys and 7-1 senior center Colin Stack, a North Dakota State recruit, make the Redwings particularly strong in the paint. Early in the third quarter Thursday, Stack found Stasys on a lob pass for an easy layup. Stasys scored inside again on the next possession.

“I love playing with Colin,” Stasys said. “He’s an incredible athlete. Normally, they’ve got to take the 5 man over to Colin, so then I’ve got a mismatch. So we can work with the high-low action.”

Stasys is also in the thick of the action on defense, which he knows is critical to success at the next level.

“Being able to play on both sides of the floor is huge,” he said. “I’m pretty athletic. Right now, rebounding, defensively, and getting to the rim is definitely the strongest aspects of my game. I’m trying to develop my game on the perimeter, so just expanding my game.”

Stasys has offers from Western Michigan and Grand Valley State and interest from Stanford and several Ivy League teams.

“I want to go to a high-academic school, but also I want to play basketball to the highest level I can,” he said. “I think I’ve got very good potential to be a good player. I try to work at it every single day.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/basketball-benet-edvardas-stasys/