Boys basketball: Benet’s Stasys follows sister’s footsteps and picks Yale, hopes to follow Poulakidas to NBA

When Benet basketball star Edvardas Stasys began taking his official recruiting visits in early September, Yale was his first stop.

The 6-foot-8 senior forward immediately felt at home, and he committed to the Bulldogs last Wednesday.

“Yale was always up there,” Edvardas Stasys said. “When I went on my visit, it really felt like I bonded with the guys.

“The campus is beautiful. The people there are amazing. It is definitely a place where I feel I could prosper and succeed.”

The Bulldogs had one advantage over Edvardas Stasys’ other suitors, including Illinois. His older sister, Gabriele Stasys, is a sophomore on the women’s volleyball team at Yale.

“I’ve talked to her about how the school is,” Stasys said. “She just absolutely loves it there. Even over the summer, she wanted to go back there because she really loves the community, the environment.

“My parents go over there fairly often to watch her play. I’ve gone over there a couple times to watch her games.”

The Stasys siblings have played in a combined five state finals for Benet. Gabriele Stasys, a 6-0 middle, helped the girls volleyball team finish second in Class 4A three times, and Edvardas Stasys has played in the past two Class 4A state championship games, helping the Redwings win their first state title in boys basketball in 2025.

They will be reunited at the same Ivy League school.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Gabriele Stasys said. “I was excited about it because I feel Yale is a very special place, and he got to see that when he came here.

“Yale is a very tight-knit community, kind of like Benet. We’re really close with the basketball team too. You don’t really get that in many places.”

It’s rare to see two siblings compete in different sports at the same Division I school. Many athletes say they want to be at a school that feels like home, and that will literally be true for Edvardas and Gabriele Stasys.

“Yale is like one big family, so now an actual family member will be here,” Gabriele Stasys said. “So really not much will change, but it will be really fun.”

Benet coach Gene Heidkamp was impressed with how Edvardas Stasys dealt with the stress of recruiting.

“I’m happy for him,” Heidkamp said. “I know it was a long process for him, and he was very thorough in his process. Obviously, the education speaks for itself, but he was very impressed with their basketball program.”

That was the decisive piece for Edvardas Stasys.

“Academics are an important part for me, but it’s not the only part,” he said. “I’m biased now, but their basketball is, I’d say, at the top of the Ivy League.

“I also thought Yale is the school where I’ll have the best chance of making the tournament, so hopefully we’ll be able to make it there together and focus on getting as far as possible.”

Edvardas Stasys aspires to play in the NBA, as well, and there’s precedent for that. Naperville resident John Poulakidas, who starred at Neuqua Valley, played for Yale and made his NBA debut last season for the Dallas Mavericks.

“I definitely have watched him play,” Edvardas Stasys said. “He actually texted me during my recruitment just to talk a little bit. I had some questions for him, and he also helped guide me a little bit.”

Poulakidas improved tremendously during his four-year career at Yale. Like him, Edvardas Stasys is known for his work ethic.

“He works so, so hard,” Gabriele Stasys said. “I remember coming back home last year and coming to a high school game, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ I barely recognized him. He was so strong, so fit. He trains so hard.”

That’s true even outside of high school and travel basketball.

“At home, we have a shooting machine,” Gabriele Stasys said. “He will set it up in the morning and go shoot. He’ll go to Acceleration.

“It’s no days off for him, and it has definitely shown. He’s improved so much. Basketball is such a tough sport because the competition is crazy and it is so good, so the fact that he’s pushing himself and competing at this high level is just really impressive.”

Edvardas Stasys is impressed with Yale.

“Yale is a great place to go,” he said. “If you want to keep pursuing basketball after it, that’s 100% possible. You can go as far as the NBA. It’s the best of both worlds.”