Auburn basketball rumors: Walker Kessler predicted to choose Plains

While Bruce Pearl’s Auburn basketball team didn’t exactly have a stellar 2020-21 season, the offseason is shaping up pretty nicely. Though the team lost a couple of players through the transfer portal and to the NBA, two signees are on their way into the program as well as a veteran transfer from the College of Charleston.

But that’s not all, folks. Bruce Pearl and his coaching staff are still rooting around the NCAA Transfer Portal and are being seriously considered by several top transfer prospects. Noah Gurley out of Furman and Nimari Burnett from Texas Tech both including Auburn in their list of top schools and will be making final decisions later this week.

On the flip side, several of the Tigers’ main targets have not set a decision date, including athletes like Xavier Pinson of Missouri, Keon Edwards of DePaul, and Walker Kessler from UNC. While Pinson has named Auburn basketball in his top four, Edwards and Kessler haven’t narrowed down their lists.

Though Kessler was recently contacted by UNC basketball’s new head coach, Hubert Davis, the JBoyShow on Twitter still predicts Kessler to choose Auburn with 65% confidence:

As reported by Fly War Eagle last week, Kessler was heavily recruited by Pearl and the Tigers out of high school, and many thought he would choose to begin his collegiate career on the Plains. Though Auburn was in his top three schools, he ended up at UNC–but only for a year, it seems.

The Tigers’ main competition for the 7-foot center comes from the Gonzaga Bulldogs, a team that very nearly pulled off a perfect season in 2020-21. Also in the mix are Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee.

If Bruce Pearl can pull off a commitment from Kessler, it would be a huge get for the Tigers–literally and figuratively. Whatever the result, a formidable 2021-22 roster is quickly taking shape on the Plains.