R.C. Ciunys '22 to Play NCAA DI Basketball

After a hugely successful basketball season in his senior year at Harvey in 2021-22, Regimantas “R.C.” Ciunys will take his game to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and play for the NCAA Division 1 Retrievers. Ciunys, who came to Harvey from Lithuania for his senior year as an international student, accepted UMBC’s full scholarship offer to attend college in 2022-23 and play basketball rather than wait a year and do a post-grad fifth year at another private school. The official signing occurred Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the university.

Ciunys shared his appreciation for his senior year at Harvey. “I just want to say a big thank-you to The Harvey School,” he said. “My year at Harvey helped me develop as a basketball player, as a student, but, most importantly, as a person.”

Ciunys came to Harvey with tremendous basketball skills and wowed the home crowd early on with high-flying dunks. Named as one of the team’s three captains, Ciunys began his Harvey career with an impressive first game when he scored a season-high 46 points. He quickly became the player opposing defenses aimed to stop. Despite the best efforts of his opponents, Ciunys continued to record big offensive numbers, averaging 28 points per game. Selected HVAL All-League and All-NEPSAC, Ciunys led his team in almost every category. Besides his ability to score, he averaged seven assists a game and dominated the boards in most games, pulling down an average of 14 rebounds per game.

“R.C’s ability, talent, and leadership made him our most valuable player,” said Harvey’s head basketball coach Denis Arnautovic. “It will be fun to follow his career at UMBC,” the coach said. “I can’t wait to see his exceptional basketball talents on display in the NCAA,” he added.

Ciunys' Retrievers, who play in the America East Conference, last made it to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and became the first No. 16 seed in the NCAA men’s tournament to beat a No. 1 seed, Virginia, in what many believe is the greatest upset in college basketball history.