Auburn Tiger
2025-26 record: 22-16 (7-11)
Roster departures
● Keyshawn Hall (19.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg)
● KeShawn Murphy (10.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg)
● Elyjah Freeman (9.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg
● Sebastian Williams-Adams (7.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg)
● Filip Jovic (6.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg)
● Kaden Magwood (3.6 ppg and 1.0 rpg)
● Emeka Opurum (3.8 ppg and 2.5 rpg)
● Addul Bashir (2.0 ppg and 0.5 rpg)
Roster returnees
● Tahaad Pettiford (15.4 ppg and 3.8 apg)
● Kevin Overton (14.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg)
Roster additions
● Adam Olsen (16.7 ppg and 4.1 rpg at South Alabama)
● Thomas Dowd (14.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg at Troy)
● Owen Freeman (5.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg at Creighton)
● Bukky Oboye (7.9 ppg and 4.1 rpg at Santa Clara)
● George Kimble (18 ppg and 3.2 apg in 2024-25 for Eastern Kentucky)
Coach Steven Pearl's first year ended with an NIT title. Yet despite the ups and downs of a team that signed up to play with his father, Auburn was able to keep two key starters, Pettiford and Overton. Those are massive building blocks to work with, offsetting the loss of the likes of Freeman, Jovic, and Williams-Adams to the transfer portal.
Among those who joined the team are Olsen and Dowd, two of the top players in the Sun Belt. They, along with Freeman, create a frontcourt with a good amount of depth and versatility. Especially if Freeman, who averaged 16.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg two years ago at Iowa, gets back into form.
There was a chance that the younger Pearl would lose momentum in his first full offseason at Auburn. But the players believe in him long-term, which is the ideal vote of confidence a young high-major coach can get.
Grade: A
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