Tommy Bruner

Tommy Bruner (born April 22, 2001) is an American basketball player who just completed his collegiate career for the Denver Pioneers. He previously played for the USC Upstate Spartans and the Jacksonville Dolphins.

High school career
Bruner attended Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, South Carolina. He led Gray to back-to-back South Carolina Class AA state championships. As a senior, he averaged 16.2 points per game and was named the Class AA Player of the Year.

USC Upstate (2019–2021)
Bruner committed to play college basketball at the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate). As a freshman in 2019–20 he averaged 14 points per game, good for second-best on the team, and was named a freshman All-American. He was the Big South Conference's player of the week twice and later selected to the Big South All-Freshman Team. In 2020–21, Bruner's sophomore season, he led USC Upstate in points per game (13.6) and total assists (85). At the end of the season he was named as an honorable mention to the All-Big South Team.

Jacksonville (2021–2022)
Bruner transferred to Jacksonville prior to the start of his redshirt sophomore season. He appeared in just 13 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. He averaged 8.8 points per game.

Denver (2022–present)
After spending just one season at Jacksonville, Bruner looked to transfer. He felt an instant connection with Denver; he said "It was such a family vibe. That’s when I really knew I was in the right place." During his redshirt junior year of 2022–23, Bruner averaged then-career highs of 15.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. He helped the Pioneers start the season with an 8–1 record, which is a program record through the first nine games. While the team success was not sustained over the course of the season, Bruner's personal production was, and he was voted to the Summit League's All-Newcomer team. He received an honorable mention nod on the All-Summit League Team. Bruner also surpassed the career 1,000-point milestone on December 7, 2022 against Sacramento State.

In 2023–24, Bruner was named to the All-Summit League First Team on March 7, 2024.

Personal life
Bruner's sister Ashley played basketball at South Carolina and is retired from playing professionally overseas. His older brother Jordan plays professional basketball.

Tommy Bruner is also the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization he named "Be Different." The name is an homage to a slogan he once used on t-shirts in high school to encourage kids to stand out. Bruner said that his long-term plan for Be Different will focus on funding preschools to establish an encouraging base for kids.