Berke Büyüktuncel Season 2025-26

Honors and Awards

• 2024 Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team
• Academic All-Big Ten (2025)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2024)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2025)

2024-25 (Sophomore)
Berke Büyüktuncel (pronounced BEAR-keh buh-YOOK-toon-jell) moved into the starting lineup in his first season at Nebraska, averaging 6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He led the Huskers in rebounds per game and was second in blocked shots, as he played in 31 contests, including 28 starts.  He was averaging 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game when he suffered an ankle injury in the final minute of Nebraska's win over Ohio State on Feb. 9. The injury forced him to miss three games, and he averaged just 2.2 ppg over his final eight games after he returned to action.

Büyüktuncel reached double figures five times, most recently against Ohio State on Feb. 9 when he had 15 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, along with six rebounds and three assists. He grabbed seven or more rebounds on 10 occasions, including a career-high nine caroms seven times. He accomplished the feat three times in Big Ten play, including in back-to-back games at No. 16 Oregon and at Washington and also against No. 15 UCLA. He also had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists against Iowa in the regular-season finale. 

During non-conference action, he reached double figures four times, including a career-high 16-point effort against Oregon State. In that game, he was 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while grabbing six rebounds. He earned a spot on the all-tournament team, as he averaged 8.0 rebounds per game in Honolulu, as he tied his career high with nine rebounds in wins over Murray State and at Hawai'i. He had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists against FDU before putting together two of his best performances of the year against eventual NCAA Tournament qualifiers Saint Mary's and Creighton. He scored a then-career-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting while adding five rebounds, three steals and a career-high three blocked against the Gaels/ He was the first Husker to have at least 15 points, three blocks and three steals in a game since Aleks Maric in 2007. Büyüktuncel keyed NU's win at No. 14 Creighton with 12 points and nine boards in the 74-63 win. He was on his way to his first career double-double with six points and six rebounds in 12 minutes against South Dakota before going down with a groin injury which limited him over the next two weeks.

Büyüktuncel played in the 2024 European U20 Championships, averaging 12.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 51 percent from the field, including 54 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the line. He posted two double-doubles in the tournament, including 15 points and 14 rebounds in the finale against Iceland, and went 5-of-5 from 3-point range against Israel.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
Büyüktuncel spent the 2023-24 season at UCLA. He played in 26 games, including eight starts for the Bruins.   Büyüktuncel averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 2023-24, as he missed the first three games of the year awaiting clearance from the NCAA while also missing time with a pair of injuries.  He averaged 17.5 minutes per game while making seven of his eight starts in Pac-12 play. His lone non-conference start came in his college debut against Marquette in the Maui Invitational. He posted a pair of double-figure efforts – a season-high 13 points against Stanford and 12 points at Oregon.  He had a season-high five rebounds on three occasions, once against Maryland and in both regular-season contests against Washington. In the first matchup, he added nine points and a pair of assists in 32 minutes of work against the Huskies. Büyüktuncel was rated the No. 36 player in the class of 2023 by 24/7 Sports, while he was rated by ESPN.com as the No. 2 international player to enter college basketball in 2023-24.

He is well known in international circles, as Büyüktuncel made his Turkish senior national team debut at age 18 at the 2023 World Cup qualifier and has represented Turkey in numerous international youth events. In the summer of 2023, he led Türkiye to a third-place finish at the FIBA U19 World Cup, including an 84-70 win over the United States in the third-place game. In that contest, he had 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals. He was named to the “All-Star Five” at the event, as he averaged 11.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in seven games, including 34.8 percent from 3-point range and 86.7 percent from the free throw line. He was also chosen to the “All-Star Five” at the 2022 U18 European Championships after helping Turkey to a runner-up finish, as he averaged 12.3 points on 46.8 percent shooting, 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 steals in seven contests. Büyüktuncel also represented Türkiye in the 2023 U20 European Championships, averaging 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as one of the youngest players on the roster. He also competed for Turkey’s youth national teams in 2021 at the FIBA U18 European Challengers and at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. Büyüktuncel played for Tofas Bursa in Türkiye for four years, making 33 appearances for the club in his final season, including the Turkish Leage and the Basketball Champions League, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

PERSONAL
The son of Sebile and Durmus Büyüktuncel, Berke has one older sister (Ezgi). He has not declared a major at Nebraska. Büyüktuncel is the first Husker basketball player from Türkiye.