After making the Final Four this past season, Auburn Basketball’s roster underwent plenty of changes. Many of the team were seniors with no eligibility, including Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell, Miles Kelly, and Chaney Johnson. Plus, forward Chad Baker-Mazara elected to use his last year with the USC Trojans.
The Tigers did have one key piece who could return: Tahaad Pettiford. He was third in scoring with 11.6 ppg and led them with 3.0 apg. The former five-star prospect was an impact freshman contributor and sixth man off the bench, shooting 42% from the field and 37% from three-point range.
Despite being on a team filled with seniors, Pettiford still had some big individual outings. He had 21 points against Houston in the first week of the season, along with 21 points on 5/6 shooting from deep in a road win over Kentucky, before going for 20+ points in wins over Michigan and Creighton in the NCAA Tournament.
The playmaking guard entered the NBA Draft process and was getting plenty of looks from teams, with a projected range of being potentially in the first round. There was a legit chance of Pettiford opting to stay in the draft, which would’ve been a major problem for Auburn, as they didn’t have a veteran ball-handler on the roster besides him.
But that doesn’t matter now, with Pettiford electing to return to Auburn for his sophomore campaign. He will be a national sophomore breakout candidate and go from being a 4th option in the offense to No. 1 or 2. He’s joined by UCF transfer forward Keyshawn Hall and former Texas Tech shooting guard Kevin Overton in what could be another top-10 caliber team for the 2025-26 campaign.
The SEC did very well regarding the NBA Draft decisions, with Auburn being one of the biggest winners overall.