Last week, a Clemson women’s basketball player from Lithuania received a heartwarming birthday surprise: a visit from her mother.
Rusne Augustinaite is a junior business administration major and guard on the women’s basketball team from Siaulia, Lithuania. She has played basketball in the United States for six years, competing at the collegiate level for the last three. Since coming to the States, Augustinaite’s mother, Rasa, has yet to see her play in person.
For her first two collegiate seasons, Augustinaite played for Georgia Tech, accumulating over 493 points and 134 rebounds with the Yellow Jackets. She then transferred to Clemson ahead of the 2025-26 season. This year, Augustinaite has played in 23 games, scoring 269 points thus far. She leads the team in total points, points per game and 3-pointers.
Augustinaite, 22, has become one of the ACC’s strongest 3-point shooters, but her mother, Rasa, has been unable to see her in action due to travel costs and work obligations, according to CBS News.
While speaking to her teammates, Augustinaite expressed that she missed her family. This prompted her teammates to pool their money and surprise her by flying her mother in for her 22nd birthday, per CBS News.
“Yesterday, my teammates surprised me with my mom coming to visit for my birthday … and I’m still trying to process it. In six years of playing in the United States, she hasn’t been able to come see me play, so this moment means more than I can put into words,” Augustinaite wrote in an Instagram post.
She continued by thanking her team and expressing gratitude for creating a lifelong memory for herself and her mom.
In a video posted by the basketball team, Augustinaite said, “I’m so grateful. Where I was last year, and when I came here and just the family we built, it’s crazy.”
On Jan. 29, the Clemson Tigers played Southern Methodist University, where, after six years, Rasa was finally able to see her daughter play college basketball for the first time. The Tigers won 83-54, with an inspired Augustinaite scoring a season-high 21 points.
Head coach Shawn Poppie said during a press conference that Rasa didn’t arrive from her flight until nearly midnight, so the teammates had to convince Augustinaite to stay up for a team bonding event in order to make the surprise possible.
To speak for Augustinaite, it was worth the wait.
