Honors & Awards
- Four-Time Academic All-Big Ten (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2013, 2014; Spring 2013)
- University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 2014)
- Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award (2015)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2015)
2014-15 (Senior)
Kurkowski played in seven games as a senior, totaling two points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of action. He scored his only two points of the season against Northern Kentucky, when he had an offensive rebound and tip in. He played a season-high three minutes on two occasions (vs. Central Arkansas and vs. Iowa). He grabbed his other rebounds in Big Ten games against Penn State and Iowa. Kurkowski also excelled in the classroom, earning his undergraduate degree in December of 2014. In the community, Kurkowski claimed a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award, while adding recognition on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2015.
2013-14 (Junior)
Kurkowski saw action in five contests, totaling two points and three rebound in 10 minutes. He grabbed a career-high two rebounds in three minutes against South Carolina State on Nov. 17, and converted his only field goal attempt at No. 10 Michigan on Feb. 5. He also saw action against Florida Gulf Coast, Penn State and Purdue. Kurkowski was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team for the third straight season.
2012-13 (Sophomore)
Kurkowski played in six games in 2012-13, including five Big Ten contests, and totaled two points and two rebounds in nine minutes of action. He did not play in Nebraska's first 19 contests before making his season debut against Illinois on Jan. 22, when he grabbed a pair of rebounds in three minutes. He broke into the scoring column for the first time of his career against Northwestern on Jan. 26, hitting a basket in the final minute of a 65-49 win against the Wildcats. He also saw playing time at No. 1 Indiana on Feb. 13, at No. 17 Wisconsin on Feb. 26, and at Iowa on March 9. He also played the final minute of NU's quarterfinal loss in the Big Ten Tournament against No. 10 Ohio State on March 15.
2011-12 (Redshirt Freshman)
Kurkowski made two appearances on the season, but did not record any statistics. The 6-foot-11 forward made his Husker debut in the final two minutes against Illinois on Feb. 20, and also played the final minute against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on March 8.
2010-11 (Redshirt)
Kurkowski redshirted his first season at Nebraska.
Before Nebraska
Kurkowski was a standout player for Coach Shawn Cole at PQerkins County High School, a Class C-2 school in Grant, Neb.
Kurkowski was a first-team all-conference and all-district performer as a senior, averaging 12.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game in 2009-10. He reached double figures in rebounding in 11 of 21 games as a senior and had five games with at least six blocked shots.
His best performance as a senior came in a 27-point performance against Dundy County, when he hit 11-of-14 shots from the floor and added 11 rebounds and a pair of steals. He also had a triple-double against Chase County with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
He became a full-time starter during his junior campaign, when he averaged 8.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game.
In addition to his basketball exploits, he lettered four times in football and three years in track, giving him 10 varsity letters. Kurkowski was an accomplished student, finishing his career with a 4.0 GPA and ranking in the top five in his senior class. He was an academic all-state selection by the Lincoln Journal Star and was a member of the High Honor Roll at Perkins County. His success in the classroom qualified him for a Regents Scholarship at Nebraska.
Personal
Kye is the son of Kelvin and Judy Kurkowski and was born on Dec. 25, 1991. He has three brothers, Max, Ross and Zak, and two sisters, Nileelle and Jaclyn. Kurkowski majored in agricultural engineering major at Nebraska.
| Minutes | Total | 3-Point | F-Throws | Rebounds | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | gp-gs | min | avg | fg | fga | pct | fg | fga | pct | ft | fta | pct | off | def | tot | avg | pf | fo | ast | t/o | blk | stl | pts | avg | |
| 2011-12 | 2-0 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 2012-13 | 6-0 | 9 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 | |
| 2013-14 | 5-0 | 10 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.4 | |
| 2014-15 | 7-0 | 12 | 1.7 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 | |
| TOTAL | 20-0 | 34 | 1.7 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.3 | |
SINGLE-GAME HIGHS: Points: 2, 4 times Rebounds: 2, Illinois -- 01/22/13 ; Illinois -- 1/22/13 ; South Carolina State -- 11/17/13 FG made: 1, 4 times FG attempts: 1, 5 times FT attempts: 1, at Michigan -- 02/05/14 |