Less than a year after launching in London, BaltixSport is relocating permanently to Lithuania as founders Tautvydas Poniškaitis and Becca Fields-Poniškaitis look to strengthen their work with young Baltic footballers pursuing opportunities in the US college system.
The agency was created to connect players from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with American college programmes and scholarship opportunities. But after months of travelling from the UK to the Baltics, Tautvydas and Becca say it became clear that the business needed to be based closer to the athletes and families it serves.
“This is not a temporary relocation,” they emphasized. “It’s even more than a long-term investment. It’s a homecoming.”
Since launching last summer, BaltixSport has signed four athletes and placed one, Karolis Zukauskas, at a programme in Georgia, USA. The remaining three are expected to start at US college programmes in autumn 2028, while Poniškaitis says further player announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
The move to Lithuania will allow the pair to attend more matches, training sessions and academy events, while building closer relationships with clubs, schools, players and parents across the region. Poniškaitis says one of the biggest challenges has been limited awareness of the US college route among Baltic athletes.
“Athletes across the region are talented and disciplined enough both on the pitch and in the classroom to succeed in US college soccer programmes,” he noted. “Our mission is to give these athletes and their families all the information they need about this pathway so they can make an informed decision on their futures.”
The founders also want to challenge the perception that only elite prospects can make the move, or that the pathway is automatically too expensive.
“The biggest misconception we face is that you have to be the next Messi or Ronaldo or else playing at a US college will cost you an arm and a leg,” Poniškaitis said. “Over 2,000 colleges in the US offer soccer scholarships. There is well and truly a level for everyone to play in the US.”
The response has varied across the Baltic states. BaltixSport say Lithuanian partners have been keen to adopt the route early, Estonian athletes have been open but more concerned about distance from home, while Latvian interest has so far come more from individual players and coaches than academies.
Across the region, many players still want to explore professional opportunities before considering the US college route. The founders say they support that approach and see the American pathway as one option rather than a replacement for professional ambition.
Poniškaitis’s own experience remains central to the agency’s work. As a Baltic athlete who earned a scholarship and completed a four-year degree in the United States, he has first-hand knowledge of the recruitment process and the transition into student-athlete life.
The pair say they have no plans to expand beyond the Baltics, but want to build a sustainable regional business focused on creating opportunities for local players. Their advice to those considering the US route is simple: start early.
“The US college recruiting process is long and complicated,” Poniškaitis said. “Starting between 15 and 16 years old is ideal.”
For BaltixSport, the relocation is a bet that the pathway to America is best built at home – on academy pitches, in conversations with parents, and through regular presence in the Baltic football community.
