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The SEC was the cream of the crop during the 2024-25 college basketball season, and Auburn basketball was right at the forefront of that. Bruce Pearl and the Tigers put together impressive win after impressive win on their way to an SEC regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for Auburn, they couldn't get over the hump that was the Florida Gators. After Florida took home the SEC Tournament Championship in early March, Todd Golden and company took Auburn down in a clash of the titans in the Final Four. Florida would go on to beat Houston to win the national championship, leaving a bitter taste in Auburn's mouth after a great season.
Now, like always, the focus turns to next season and how Pearl can rebuild this roster into a title contender once again despite plenty of turnover, like there always is in college basketball. While it will be difficult for Auburn to replicate the magical run that it had last year, there is still plenty to be optimistic about in The Jungle.
Who is returning, departing for Auburn?
Key departures: F Johni Broome, C Dylan Cardwell, G Miles Kelly, G Denver Jones, F Chad Baker-Mazara
Likely rotation returners: G Tahaad Pettiford
Unsure about: F Chaney Johnson
Auburn is losing a ton from its rotation last season, including superstar Johni Broome in the middle. Broome is off to the NBA after a consensus First Team All-American season, so Auburn will have to replace its solar system.
That will be the top priority heading into the offseason, but there is plenty more production heading out the door. The starting backcourt, Denver Jones and Miles Kelly, are both gone and take with them a variety of valuable skills sets that Auburn depended on heavily last season.
Kelly was one of the best shooters in college basketball and could get hot at any time, which was sort of a get out of jail free card for Pearl and company at times. On the other side of the ball, Jones was one of the top perimeter defenders in the SEC while also running the Auburn offense with the ball, so that will be very difficult to replace next season.
Auburn is also losing its heart and soul in big man Dylan Cardwell, who brought an edge and a sense of physicality on defense. Chad Baker-Mazara was a wild card at times, but he is another talented scorer that will need to be replaced.
It remains to be seen whether Chaney Johnson will get a waiver to return to Auburn next season, but getting him back would be a big boost. While unspectacular, Johnson is an experienced piece who can give you quality minutes in the front court on a consistent basis.
Auburn is also still awaiting the decision from Tahaad Pettiford, who became a household name in the NCAA Tournament with an incredible game against Michigan in the Sweet 16. Pettiford made his way into Pearl's rotation as a freshman and was a big-time scorer at times for Auburn.
Pettiford is currently testing the NBA Draft waters, but he feels like a likely candidate to come back for one more season in college. He is on the smaller side and didn't get a ton of experience as a lead guard last season, so another year as a starter at Auburn would do wonders for his stock.
Offseason additions
Transfer portal additions: G Keyshawn Hall (UCF), F KeShawn Murphy (Mississippi State), F Elyjah Freeman (Division-II Lincoln Memorial), G Kevin Overton (Texas Tech), G Abdul Bashir (Casper College)
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Incoming freshmen: 4-star F Sebastian Williams-Adams, 4-star G Kaden Magwood, 4-star G Simon Walker
Pearl will have plenty of work to do in the lead-up to next season after all of the roster turnover that Auburn is undergoing. The Auburn staff has been hard at work in the transfer portal and has brought in a number of intriguing pieces.
Keyshawn Hall is the biggest pickup of the bunch for Auburn and should provide an immediate go-to scorer on the wing. Hall can heat up in an instant after a stellar season for UCF where he averaged 18.8 points per game.
The Tigers also added a pair of useful role players in Kevin Overton and KeShawn Murphy, both of whom played important roles on NCAA Tournament reams last season. Both should slide right into the rotation for Auburn next season based on their previous production.
One of the biggest pivot points for this Auburn team next season will be the performance of two additions from lower levels. Pearl landed commitments from Division-II star Elyjah Freeman and JUCO guard Abdul Bashir.
Freeman averaged 19.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last season for Lincoln Memorial while shooting nearly 58% from the field and 25-for-54 from 3-point range on the season. On the other hand, Bashir led junior college with 27.1 points per game last season.
It will be hard for both of them to keep that same production in the best basketball conference in the nation, but both should be able to give this Auburn offense some pop next season.
It will be interesting to see what Pearl is able to get out of his three incoming freshmen, all four-star recruits. Sebastian Williams-Adams is the highest-ranked of the three, and Auburn could use his size as a big wing who can give them good minutes in the front court.
Auburn's outlook for 2025-26
Auburn won't have the same experience that it did last season with Broome and Baker-Mazara gone. That may hurt the Tigers early on in the season as they get their feet underneath them, but there is still plenty of talent on the roster.
If Pettiford comes back, Auburn will have one of the most talented scorers in the country running the point to go along with Bashir in the backcourt. Hall is a potential All-SEC candidate as well, so there will be no shortage of skill on this roster.
The toughest thing for Auburn to translate into next season will likely be their toughness and connectedness on the defensive end of the floor. Without a large core of returning players, that identity will be difficult to maintain, but Pearl has shown before that he can get guys to buy in even in year one. If he can do that again, this team should be right near the top of the SEC once again.
