After the news broke last Monday that Bruce Pearl was resigning after 11 years in charge of Auburn men's basketball, the question everyone was asking themselves was this: Will this cost the Tigers some players in the transfer portal?
With a coach resigning or being fired, the team's roster has 30 days to enter the transfer portal if they want to find another place to play. Luckily for Auburn and new head coach Steven Pearl, the Tigers' roster is staying intact, including key players Tahaad Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall, according to Jon Rothstein.
Pettiford, a breakout guard in his freshman season, treaded the NBA waters before ultimately deciding to come back to the Plains for his sophomore season. He is the one key player returning from last year's squad that won the SEC regular-season title and advanced to the Final Four. In 38 games, the New Jersey native averaged 11.6 points with 3.0 assists and 2.2 rebounds. Pettiford shot 36.6 percent from behind the three-point line and showed fearlessness when driving to the bucket.
Playing for UCF last season, Hall earned All-Big 12 honors, producing 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
KeShawn Murphy, a transfer from Mississippi State, averaged 11.7 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks per game for the Bulldogs last season. At 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, the Birmingham native is expected to pick up production at the forward spot, left vacant with the departure of Johni Broome.
In all, Pearl and his staff brought in nine new pieces for the Tigers, including true freshmen Filip Jovič, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Jeremiah Bowman and Kaden Magwood.
Auburn starts its 2025-26 season with exhibition games against Oklahoma State in Birmingham on Oct. 15 and against Memphis at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Oct. 30 before hosting Bethune-Cookman in the regular-season opener on Nov. 3.