Fenerbahce officially strengthened its backcourt on Tuesday by signing Lithuanian shooting guard Ignas Sargiunas to a two-year contract with an option for the 2028-29 season. The move continues the Turkish club’s extensive offseason rebuild following its run to the 2025-26 EuroLeague Final Four.
Sargiunas arrives from Rytas Vilnius after establishing himself as one of Lithuania’s top domestic guards. The 26-year-old averaged 12.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 32 Lithuanian League games last season while helping Rytas capture the Basketball Champions League title. In European competition, he contributed 11.2 points across 16 BCL appearances during the championship campaign.
The signing also marks a major milestone in Sargiunas’ career, as he is set to make his EuroLeague debut after several productive seasons outside Europe’s top competition.
Before turning professional, Sargiunas developed in the Zalgiris Kaunas youth system and competed in the 2016 adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals in Berlin. He later moved to the United States, playing college basketball at the University of Georgia before transferring to Colorado State University.
His professional career began with Prienai in Lithuania before stops with medi Bayreuth in Germany and Neptunas Klaipeda. Sargiunas joined Rytas in 2024, where his consistent two-way play and perimeter shooting helped elevate his profile across Europe.
Internationally, Sargiunas represented Lithuania at EuroBasket 2025 and has been a regular member of the national team setup. Earlier in his career, he won silver medals at the 2015 FIBA U16 European Championship and the 2016 FIBA U18 European Championship, before adding bronze at the 2017 U18 European Championship.
Fenerbahce enters the new season after finishing 24-14 in the EuroLeague regular season, good for fourth place. The club defeated Zalgiris 3-1 in the playoff quarterfinals before falling to Olympiacos in the Final Four semifinals. Olympiacos ultimately went on to defeat Real Madrid in the championship game.
The roster has undergone significant changes this summer. Veteran guard Nando De Colo retired, while Devon Hall, Bonzie Colson, Tarik Biberovic, Khem Birch, Arturs Zagars, Brandon Boston Jr., Armando Bacot, Jilson Bango, Metecan Birsen and Mikael Jantunen all departed.
To reshape the squad, Fenerbahce has already added Trent Forrest, Shane Larkin, Shavon Shields, Braxton Key and center Sertac Sanli. Sargiunas becomes another perimeter addition as the club looks to replace the shooting and wing depth lost during the offseason.
