STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State big man
Matyas Vrabel announced his return to the program on Wednesday, marking the third Texan from the 2025-26 roster to commit to head coach
Eric Haut ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Vrabel enjoyed his first season in Stephenville as a sophomore last year. He saw action in 14 games all off the bench for the Texans. In limited time this season, he averaged 2.2 points and 1.0 rebounds in 6.0 minutes per game this season. He made 14 of his 21 shots from the floor, a 66.7 percent clip.
"Matyas is a high-character young man who represents everything we value, both on and off the court," said Haut. "He brings a strong work ethic, a team-first mindset, and a high level of skill at the forward position which fits our style of play and will help him make an immediate impact on our team next season. I think Coach Ubel will be an extremely valuable resource in his development, and I can't wait to see Matyas's growth in the days and months ahead."
The sophomore started off strong for the Purple and White scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in the second game of the season at LSU. Vrabel was one of three players to score in double figures against the Tigers that night and one of the 15 Texans to record a double-digit scoring total in at least one game this season. He shot four-for-seven from the floor and made two of his three shots from the charity stripe.
"First of all, I want to thank my family for all the sacrifices they made to put me in this position," said Vrabel. "None of this would be possible without them. I also want to thank Tarleton State, the coaches, my teammates, and everyone around the program for giving me the opportunity to be here and grow every day. With that being said, I'm more than happy to say, I'm back."
Vrabel transferred to the Texans last season after spending his freshman season at Division II, Davenport University. At Davenport, he was named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year. In his rookie season, he averaged 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 25.4 minutes per game for the Panthers. He recorded five double-doubles while scoring in double figures in 17 of his 28 games played. Vrabel also notched six games with at least 10 boards. He scored a season-best 23 points in the final game of the season while recording eight rebounds. He ranked fourth in the conference bringing down 6.9 rebounds per game. The big man led all freshman in the GLIAC and was fourth in all of Division II among freshman in boards per game.
The Ostrava, Czech Republic, native, spent all of his prep years in his native country before heading to the US to compete collegiately. He played for head coach Petr Jachan at Sportovni Gymnazium in Kladno, Czech Republic during his prep career. He also competed on the U16 and U20 Czech Republic national teams and was a member of the State Champions runners-up squad. He is an only child and the son of Roman Vrabel and Lucie Vrablova. He is set to continue majoring in sport management. When he's not playing basketball, he enjoys fishing with his dad when he goes back home to the Czech Republic.
More additions to the Tarleton State 2026-27 roster are yet to come as well as a full schedule release at a later date.
