Southern Methodist University transfer Samet Yiğitoğlu committed to Indiana men’s basketball, DraftExpress reported Tuesday on X. The 7-foot-2 center spent two seasons at SMU before committing to the Hoosiers.
During the 2025-26 season, Yiğitoğlu started in all 34 games for the Mustangs, averaging 10.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He shot 62.8% from the field, put up seven double-double performances and had 14 multi-block games. Yiğitoğlu led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 3.6 offensive boards per game.
Yiğitoğlu put up similar statistics in his freshman season at SMU, as he averaged 10 points, 6.2 rebounds and one block per game. He shot 53.5% from the field and totaled three double-double performances.
Prior to joining SMU, Yiğitoğlu averaged 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and one block and shot 82.6% from the field in four games with Sigortam Instabul in Turkey in 2023-24. The Istanbul native also played for Turkey in the 2023 FIBA U20 Europeans Championship, averaging 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds across seven games.
Yiğitoğlu is the tallest Hoosier to be recruited by second-year head coach Darian DeVries and will provide size in the paint and protection at the rim.
Yiğitoğlu marks the fourth transfer to commit to the Hoosiers, alongside junior guard Markus Burton and sophomore guards Jaeden Mustaf and Darren Harris. He will join returning freshman forward Trent Sisley and three incoming freshmen — guard Prince-Alexander Moody and forwards Vaughn Karvala and Trevor Manhertz.
DeVries and his team will look to build on a year one that resulted in an 18-14 overall record and a missed NCAA Tournament appearance.
Follow reporter Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball offseason.
