This feature originally appeared in the 2025-26 Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. 




The attributes that make California men's basketball fans fond of Rytis Petraitis – the winning plays, the extra injection of hustle, the extensive bumps and bruises – can be traced back to his younger days growing up in the same house as one of the top rebounders in the old Pac-10 Conference.

Petraitis' mom, Reda Petraitis, finished fourth in the Pac-10 in rebounding as a senior at Oregon State in 1999-00 with an average of 7.4 boards per game. As with many elite rebounders, it was Reda's focused determination and competitiveness that made her so successful on the boards.

Rytis got an early taste of his mom's competitiveness at a young age. While his father – Ramas Petraitis – also played basketball at Oregon State, he may have taken his foot off the gas at times when playing one-on-one against his son. 

No such luck when Rytis went head-to-head with Reda.

"I had cuts. I almost needed stitches one time. I almost broke my arm," Rytis said. "She did not take it easy on me. I didn't play my mom after about the seventh grade. She's very competitive."

It was those rough and tumble showdowns growing up in Arlington, Texas, that helped shape Petraitis into the do-anything-to-win player he is now as a Golden Bear. Petraitis immediately endeared himself to Cal fans when he arrived on the scene in Berkeley for the 2024-25 season, and the admiration hasn't waned.

"I'm just so competitive by nature," Reda Petraitis said. "It didn't matter what we played – it could be a board game. He knew it was game on. It's no mercy, no slowing down. We play like it's a championship game."

The microcosm of Petraitis' value was personified during a key moment of the Bears' landmark win over UCLA this season. With the game hanging in the balance, Cal's baseline out-of-bounds play broke down. Petraitis simply bullied his way through Bruins defenders to make himself available for the pass, and scored a layup to put the Bears up by six points with less than four minutes to play.

"Playing against my mom shaped me as a player and shaped me as a person as well," Petraitis said. "Being on the court and just having that aggressiveness that nobody sees until I'm on the court – I definitely take pride in that."

The tendency is to characterize a player who does the proverbial "little things" to have a lack of skill. Make no mistake, Petraitis can play. Before arriving in Berkeley, he led Air Force in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (6.3) and assists (3.7 apg) as a sophomore in 2023-24. He also led all Mountain West Conference freshmen in scoring in 2022-23.

 "Rytis Petraitis is an outstanding basketball player," Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. "He's just someone who impacts winning at such a high level in every way, and he's an all-around basketball player."

Petraitis has been limited this season due to injury, but made his presence felt as a junior with averages of 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game. He scored in double-digits 12 times and recorded three double-doubles.

"My high school coach texted me last year and said, 'Do you realize you're starting at a Power 4? That means you're one of the best players in college basketball,'" Petraitis said. "You don't really think about it that way."

There aren't too many student-athletes who have had a college basketball story like Petraitis. He had an eye-opening experience at Air Force, adjusting to the discipline and regimented lifestyle of a cadet while navigating the demands of a high-level student-athlete. He then transferred to the greatest public institution of higher learning in the galaxy, where hands aren't held and you are on your own to make sure you leverage campus resources for success.

As it turns out, it's a success story. In addition to his production on the court last season, Petraitis was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and is on track to earn his degree in analytics.

"Rytis has the respect of every single player in the locker room," Madsen said. "He's a guy who people lean on, he has a great voice and he's not afraid to call people out. Because it's Rytis and he has a relationship with everyone in that locker room, people listen to him."

Jake Lucero is preparing to graduate from the Air Force Academy this spring, and it wasn't too long ago that he arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was paired with Petraitis as a roommate. The two became fast and close friends, and they still talk almost daily.

Petraitis is convinced that his experience at Air Force has helped him succeed at Cal, and Lucero agrees.

"From my perspective, he's doing really well," Lucero said. "He's at a place he deserves to be. I feel like he can thrive at Cal and really focus all-in on what he loves. The military was great for him, and it's a great career. But it made sense for him to go to Cal."

Ramas Petraitis started every Oregon State game at point guard during his two seasons in Corvallis and averaged 5.7 points per game. He also spent time with the Lithuanian Under-22 National Team.

Rytis Petraitis is proud of his Lithuanian heritage. Both of his parents are Lithuanian and he grew up speaking the language regularly at home. He also spent time with the Lithuania national team during the summer of 2024.

"It was a super cool experience," Petraitis said. "I learned a lot about Lithuanian culture. I already knew how to speak the language, but the culture is amazing."

Despite missing significant time with an injury this season, Petraitis continues to exert his leadership on and off the court and make an impact on the team's performance and culture.

"Rytis commands respect with his teammates and with the staff," Madsen said. "The guy is just an absolute huge asset to this team, this university and this community."