Texas A&M men’s basketball freshman forward Yavuz Gultekin has entered the NCAA transfer portal, the school announced on Monday.
In a statement, A&M coach Buzz Williams thanked Gultekin for his contributions to the team last season.
“We are thankful for Yeezy’s contributions to our program on-and-off the floor during our first year, and we wish him the absolute best going forward,” Williams said.
As a true freshman, Gultekin averaged just over eight minutes per game, scoring an average of 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds over 24 games played during the 2019-2020 season.
Gultekin’s best outings came in the season opener against Northwestern State, where he finished with a season-high eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes, and on the road at South Carolina, where he matched his season-high of eight points in 21 minutes on the floor. Throughout the season, Gultekin was a big post player on the bench who, along with freshman Jonathan Aku, helped starter Josh Nebo get quality rest in games.
With Nebo graduating this season, Gultekin entered the 2020-2021 season as a contender for crucial minutes in the A&M frontcourt alongside Aku and recent graduate transfer Kevin Marfo.
A three-star prospect out of high school, the Turkish native was one of three former Virginia Tech recruits that followed Williams to A&M, along with starters Andre Gordon and Emanuel Miller. Gultekin was one of seven three-star prospects in last year’s recruiting class, with five of those players, including Gultekin, averaging over eight minutes a contest.