Vandy gains commitments from 2 four-star transfers – MajorWager

After missing the NCAA Tournament for seven straight seasons, Vanderbilt has made back-to-back appearances since hiring Mark Byington.
A third consecutive trip to the Big Dance is most likely on the horizon. Why, you ask?
Well, it increasingly seems likely that star point guard Tyler Tanner is going to be back for his junior campaign, especially after Vandy basketball’s official Twitter account released this video featuring Tanner on Thursday.
Tanner was a first-team All-SEC selection this past year when he averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. He made 48.5 percent of his field-goal attempts, 36.8 percent of his treys and 85.3 percent of his free throws.
Vandy lost a heartbreaker to Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when Tanner’s potential buzzer beater from halfcourt went in and out. Tanner had 27 points, four assists without a turnover, four steals and two rebounds in the 74-72 defeat to the Cornhuskers.
The Commodores earned commitments from a pair of four-star transfers on Friday, including one of Nebraska’s starters from its first-ever run to the Sweet 16.
Berke Buyuktuncel, a 6-foot-10 power forward, is leaving Lincoln for Music City. He was ranked by 247Sports as the #100 overall player in the portal and the #24 power forward.
Buyuktuncel played 27 minutes in Nebraska’s win over Vandy, contributing 12 points, four rebounds and one assist. He hit 5-of-6 FGAs and both of his launches from 3-point range.
Buyuktuncel was a four-star prospect from Turkey in the 2023 recruiting cycle when he initially signed with UCLA. 247Sports had him as the nation’s #36 overall prospect and the #7 power forward in the 2023 class.
During his freshman season at UCLA, Buyuktuncel started eight times in 26 appearances. Playing an average of 16.3 minutes per game for the Bruins, he averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 RPG.
Buyuktuncel spent the last two seasons at Nebraska after transferring from UCLA. He started 28 of 31 games as a sophomore in 2024-25, averaging 6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 blocked shots per game.
Buyuktuncel missed two games this past year, but he started in all 33 games he played. He averaged 6.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 blocked shots and 0.9 steals per game.
Buyuktuncel had nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot in the Cornhuskers’ 76-47 win over Troy in the first round of the NCAAT. In 28 minutes of action during a 77-71 Sweet 16 loss to Iowa, he finished with two points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and one steal.
Byington also found a backcourt mate for Tanner in former Washington St. shooting guard Ace Glass, who 247Sports had ranked as the #120 overall player in the portal and the #18 shooting guard.
Glass made the WCC All-Freshman Team and earned second-team All-WCC honors as a rookie for the Cougars this past year. He was fourth in the league in scoring (16.4 PPG), third in free-throw percentage (88.2%), fifth in the FG percentage (45.5%) and sixth in 3-pointers made (71).
Glass averaged 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 APG. He buried 36.4 percent of his 3-pointers, but he’ll need to improve on a mediocre 75/76 assist-to-turnover ratio.
In addition to the likely return of Tanner, Vandy has two other returning players in rising sophomores Chandler Bing and Jayden Leverett. Bing averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 RPG, but he appeared in all 36 games and competed his ass off at the defensive end of the floor. He should make a big jump in 2026-27.
Byington has three incoming freshmen that are four-star recruits in guard Anthony Brown, wing Ethan Mgbako and 6-foot-10 big Jackson Sheffield.
FanDuel has the Commodores, who have eight remaining roster spots to fill, with 30/1 odds to win the 2027 NCAA Tournament. Those are tied for the 12th-shortest odds on the board.

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