UCLA Transfer Berke Buyuktuncel Commits To Huskers

Nebraska secured the commitment of UCLA transfer forward Berke Buyuktuncel today, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Buyuktuncel (pronounced BEAR-keh buh-YOOK-toon-jell) is the sixth scholarship transfer addition for Fred Hoiberg’s Huskers this offseason. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Nebraska now has one scholarship remaining for the 2024-25 roster, but may choose to sit on it now that Buyuktuncel is in the mix.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound lefty from Bursa, Turkey, joins five other transfer adds, including forwards Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State) and Braxton Meah (Washington) and guards Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers), Rollie Worster (Utah/Utah State) and Connor Essegian (Wisconsin).

The Huskers also added rising forward Justin Bolis to the roster as a preferred walk-on. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Bolis is a local product out of Lincoln High School who spent his first season of college basketball in the junior college ranks at nearby Southeast Community College in Lincoln, where he started 31 games and averaged 15.5 points and 8.7 rebounds as a true freshman.

Buyuktuncel visited Nebraska after checking out BYU during the recruiting process. Per reports, the Huskers and Cougars were the final two programs the stretch forward was focusing on.

After entering the transfer portal on April 30, programs that reportedly contacted Buyuktuncel included Virginia, Cincinnati, Washington, Butler, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, BYU, Iowa and Louisville.

The last remaining piece to Nebraska’s roster was a starter/rotation piece at the four, and Buyuktuncel’s size and versatile skill set fits what the Huskers were looking for. He’s shown to have both a good handle and perimeter shooting ability for a player his size, and can play the three as well.

Buyuktuncel didn’t have a smooth start to his college career. He missed UCLA’s preseason exhibition and first three games of the regular season while waiting to be cleared by the NCAA. Once he was eligible and playing, injuries slowed him. He missed three games in December due to a right ankle injury and then the road game at USC on Jan. 27 with a left hand injury.

Buyuktuncel played in 26 games with eight starts as a true freshman. He averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing 16.3 minutes. For the most part, his freshman season was a struggle. He shot 38.5% from the field (40-of-104), 29.7% from 3-point range (11-of-37) and 62.8% from the free-throw line (27-of-43).

Buyuktuncel scored in double figures twice during his freshman season. Against Oregon in Eugene on Dec. 30, he recorded 12 points and three rebounds on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting from the field (1-of-2 from 3). The game after that, at home against Stanford on Jan. 3, he scored a season-high 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting (1-of-2 from 3) and went 4-of-5 at the free-throw line to go with three boards.

UCLA added three transfer forwards this offseason, including William Kyle (South Dakota State), a former Nebraska target, as well as Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State) and Eric Dailey (Oklahoma State).

Nebraska forward Rienk Mast, a key part to the Huskers’ core last season, underwent knee surgery in May that will keep him off the court for the entire 2024-25 season. Mast announced he will redshirt the upcoming season but remain with the team during his rehab.

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