Addition of stretch big helps Arizona Wildcats rebuild frontcourt

The Arizona Wildcats are continuing to rebuild their frontcourt, whether or not Koa Peat returns. The Wildcats pulled in veteran big man Ugnius "Oogie" Jaruševičius earlier this week, giving them a potential rotation player next season if he can shake off the back issues that limited him to just one game in 2025-26. A first-team all-MAC pick in 2024-25 at Central Michigan, Jaruševičius (pronounced OOOG-niss YARE-rue-SHEHH-vih-CHUSS) could back up fellow Lithuanian Motiejus Krivas at center or play some at power forward, while the Wildcats last week brought in Dutch center Endurance "Endi" Aiyamenkhue as a longer-term developmental player.

In addition, UA has been pursuing former Idaho State big man Evan Otten , who led the Big Sky in blocked shots in 2025-26 with an average of 1. 76 per game and was named to the conference's all-defensive team . Having both once played for junior Lithuanian club Zalgiris 2, Krivas and Jaruševičius could play UA's two post positions.

Otten, if he commits, could join them, while small forward Ivan Kharchenkov could shift to power forward at times as he did in 2025-26. A return from Peat, meanwhile, could supercharge the Wildcats' fortunes up front and turn them into a preseason Top 5 team. A projected mid- to late-first round pick, Peat is participating in the NBA Combine this week and is expected to remain in the draft if he is solidly projected to be taken among the first 20 picks.

He will have until May 27 to withdraw if he wants to return to Arizona. Aside from their potential 2026-27 rotation, the Wildcats also have two developmental bigs lined up in Aiyamenkhue and returner Mabil Mawut, who sat out 2025-26 as a redshirt. While the 6-11 Aiymenkhue has averaged 11.