17. Auburn Tigers (SEC)
Average recruiting ranking: 32.22
Auburn has, for the most part, been an overlooked program on the college basketball scene. While their football program has shined bright, the Tigers have struggled on the hardwood and missed the NCAA Tournament in the first eight years of the decade (as well as the five seasons before that as well). Thankfully, though, Bruce Pearl is seemingly turning the program around with Big Dance appearances and top-5 seeds in each of the past two seasons while taking a massive step in the SEC.
Auburn is not necessarily known as a basketball school, but its recruiting has been near the nation’s best in recent years. Most notably, they landed the No. 12 overall class in the country in 2016 behind three top-100 commits, including one from Mustapha Heron. As the only five-star commit in program history, he should definitely headline their biggest recruiting wins even though he transferred to St. John’s during his collegiate career. Some of the other players that should be mentioned are Isaac Okoro, Austin Wiley, and Chuma Okeke.
Head coach Bruce Pearl clearly has Auburn trending in the right direction. As already referenced, the program reached the Final Four during this past season and they will likely build on that success both on the recruiting trail and on the court. The Tigers have burst onto the scene nationally and their recruiting will see a boost as a result of their high level of play. Many are expecting that Sharife Cooper will soon join Justin Powell in Auburn’s 2020 recruiting class and that will surely be a great start to the new decade.