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SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu commits to IU basketball

 

SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu

IU basketball’s frontcourt for the 2026-27 season just got a significant size boost.

SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu, a 7-foot-2 center, announced his commitment to the Hoosiers today. He is the fourth transfer portal commitment for the Hoosiers, joining Jaeden Mustaf (Georgia Tech), Darren Harris (Duke) and Markus Burton (Notre Dame).

Yigitoglu, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Listed at 270 pounds, Yigitoglu appeared in 66 games – all starts – over the last two seasons for the Mustangs under Andy Enfield.

He averaged 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots in 26.7 minutes per game. He shot 58.3 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from the free-throw line.

As a freshman at SMU, he averaged 10 points, 6.2 rebounds and shot 53.5 percent from the field. He was not cleared by the NCAA until SMU’s third game of the season in November of 2024.

He became more efficient as a sophomore on an SMU team that made the NCAA tournament First Four in Dayton. Yigitoglu averaged 10.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot 62.8 percent from the field.

He amassed seven double-doubles, which was seventh in the ACC and scored in double figures in 24 games. He also had 14 games with two or more blocked shots. His block percentage of 5.6 in conference play ranked ninth in the ACC, according to KenPom.com.

The number that stands out statistically with Yigitoglu is his offensive rebounding. His offensive rebounding percentage of 14.4 percent ranked 44th nationally, per KenPom.com. He was the ACC’s best offensive rebounder in conference play with an offensive rebounding percentage of 15.4.

Foul issues did plague Yigitoglu at times. He was called for 4.5 fouls per 40 minutes, according to KenPom.com, and fouled out of six games last season, including three of the last four in the 2025-26 season.

His size and rim protection should be a real asset for an Indiana program that lacked interior size, rim protection, post scoring and rebounding in the 2025-26 season.

The 22-year old is also considered a solid passer for a big man as he had 10 games with three or more assists.

Highlights of Yigitoglu

Yigitoglu shot chart

Yigitoglu scouting report

“The 22-year-old Turkish center is a mountain of a man. He’s an old-school post player, who does his best work sealing deep. He can score over either shoulder and knows how to use his big body to create easy passing angles for his teammates. He is heavy-footed and has to play in drop coverage in pick-and-roll. When he does get the ball down low, sometimes it takes him a tick to gather himself and go up.

“He does have good hands and is an excellent offensive rebounder. He can also pass out of the post and plays to his strengths. He is a mostly efficient scorer, making 63 percent of his 2s, although he’s just a career 53.1 percent free-throw shooter. The top comparison at KenPom is Oumar Ballo and that’s a good one. He’ll be a double-digit scorer in most systems, provide some rim protection and offensive rebounding. It has to be the right fit defensively, but his combination of size and low-post scoring is intriguing.” – The Athletic

“Yigitoglu has been one of the more consistent big men in the ACC over the past two seasons. He averaged double-figure scoring both years but improved his efficiency (63% from the field) and rebounding (7.9 RPG) this season. He scored in double figures in eight of his final nine regular-season games, missing a total of 19 shots during that stretch.” – Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com

Yigitoglu bio from SMU

2025-26 (Sophomore): Started all 34 games… 10.7 points (50th ACC), 7.9 rebounds (6th ACC, 86th NCAA), 3.56 offensive rebounds (1st ACC, 17th NCAA), 1.3 blocks (8th ACC), 1.6 assists… Shot 62.8% FGs… Had 7 double-doubles (7th ACC)… Scored 10+ in 24 games, had 14 multi-block games… GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Totaled 12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in the ACC Tournament first round win vs Syracuse 3/10… Added 15 points (7-10 FG), 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in the win at Pitt 2/7…Had 14 points (7-7 FGs), 11 rebounds and career-high 5 assists vs Central Arkansas 12/21… Tied career highs of 13 rebounds and 3 assists along with 5 points and 2 blocks in overtime win at Mississippi State 11/28… Had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in the 87-85 win vs Butler 11/15… Added 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in the win vs A&M-Corpus Christi 11/6… Had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks in season-opening win vs Tarleton St 11/3…. SMU SEASON RECORDS: FG% (62.8%, 3rd), Rebounds (26, 17th), Blocked Shots (43, T-19th)… SMU CAREER RECORDS: FG% (58.3, 2nd), Blocked Shots average (1.2, 8th), Blocked Shots (76, 13th), Rebound average (7.1, T-21st).

2024-25 (Freshman): Played/started 32 of 35 games… 10.0 points (51st ACC), 6.2 rebounds (17th ACC), 1.0 blocks (15th ACC), 53.5% FG, 3 double-doubles (21st ACC)… GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Added 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block in the NIT second round vs Oklahoma State 3/23… Totaled 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in the win vs Pitt 2/11… Had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in win vs Stanford 2/1… Game-high 20 points (8-13 FGs, 4-4 FTs, all FTs in last 2 minutes) with 7 rebounds, an assist and a block in win at NC State 1/25… Added 15 points (6-7 FG, 3-4 FT), 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in win at Miami 1/18… Had 10 points (5-6 FGs), 6 rebounds, a steals, and a block in win at Virginia 1/15… Added 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and an assist in win vs Georgia Tech 1/11… Had 16 points (7-8 FG) and 6 rebounds in AACC-opening win vs Virginia 12/7…First double-double with 12 points (6-9 FGs) and 11 rebounds in Acrisure Holiday Invitational Championship vs Washington State 11/27… Had 13 points (5-8 FG), 4 rebounds and an assist in SMU debut vs UNCG 11/11… SMU SEASON RECORDS: 53.5% (123-230) on FGs (4th-best for a freshman).

Prior to SMU: Averaged 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and shot 82.6% on FGs in four games with Sigortam Istanbul in Turkey in 2023-24… Sigortam finished tied for first at 28-6 in the Turkish second division…Played for Turkey in the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship in Greece, averaging 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds while hitting 66.0% on FGs (33-50)… Played three seasons for Besiktas S.J. of Turkey’s first division; 2023-24 averaged 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and hitting 65.4% FGs in 56 games (Turkish League, Turkish Cup, Euroleague, VTB Supercup); 2022-23 averaged 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 55.6% in 15 games; 2021-22 averaged 1.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and hit 50.0% FGs in five games in his debut season… Also played for MZT Skopje in the North Macedonia Superleague and Adriatic League in 2022-23, averaging 6.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and hitting 55.5% FGs in 25 games… In 2021-22, he was selected to play for Next Generation Team Belgrade (9 points, 11.8 rebounds in 4 games) and U18 Next Generation Select (7.1 points, 8.5 rebounds in 4 games).

(Photo credit: SMU Athletics)

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