After a season that ended in reaching the Final Four, the Auburn basketball program is prepared for the roster to look completely different in the 2025-26 season. Only one player from last year's roster could return, and that's rising sophomore Tahaad Pettiford.
The guard declared for the NBA Draft while still retaining his college eligibility after the Final Four, and has been testing the waters in the NBA Combine. Pettiford has made it clear that if he does not feel like he has a first-round contract guaranteed, he will return to the Plains for a second year. He will not enter the transfer portal, it will be the league or Auburn basketball.
With the deadline to exit the draft but still retain college eligibility being next Wednesday, May 28, the clock is ticking for Pettiford. Head coach Bruce Pearl said at his annual Fore the Children golf fundraiser for Children's of Alabama that the Tigers were prepared to offer a competitive NIL package for Pettiford, and that there is a real possibility that he will return. He indicated Pettiford will make his decision in about a week.
He also made a strong statement regarding the rising sophomore, who came off the bench last year for the Tigers and averaged 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
"If he does come back, he's going to have to play an expanded role, which I know is something that is exciting to him — and probably exciting to our fan base, too, because we'll get to see more of him," Pearl said, per Auburn Undercover. "He'll be a starter. There will be more on him."
Pettiford is still expected to be drafted in the second round according to most reports, but with his impressive performance at the combine, anything could happen in the next week.