“Rokas is a great young man that our fans and community will love. He’s a good shooter and finisher around the basket and will be a great fit for us. His offensive versatility will help our team as he will be able to create on his own while also complementing and meshing well with the guards we have on this year’s team. His international experience also makes him a valuable asset to our team and we’re happy to have him joining us.”
Jocius, a 6-10 forward who hails from Kaunas, Lithuania, will join the Knights after spending two seasons at La Salle. He averaged 8.5 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest during the Explorers’ 2023-24 campaign and was an efficient 56.1% from the floor, including averaging 38.5% from three-point land over 39 attempts. He played in all 33 of La Salle’s contests while earning the starting nod in 27 of them.
Jocius earned double-digit points in 12 contests and double-digit rebounds in four games, resulting in two games in which he had double-doubles.
Jocius has proved that he can be a force on the defensive end of the floor, earning 29 blocks on the year, including five contests with three or more blocks. He tied a career high with four blocked shots at Duquesne on Feb. 28 after earning four rejections against UMass on Feb. 11, 2023 season. Jocius had 24 blocks during his freshman campaign, swatting aside multiple shots in seven contests.
Prior to collegiate basketball, Jocius played for Vilniaus Perlas Energija for two seasons in the second tier of Lithuanian professional hoops. He also represented his home country at the international level, playing with the U-19 Lithuanian National Team at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
UCF now has five newcomers officially signed for the 2024-25 season. Jocius joins Syracuse transfer Benny Williams at the forward position while Keyshawn Hall has the ability to play both as a forward and guard. JJ Taylor and Cameron Simpson check in as guards to round out the rest of the newcomer crew.