Auburn Lands 4-Star Center Freeman

0:00On April 20th, Auburn Tigers head coach Steven Pearl is straight up stacking the deck this off season, aiming to build a monster SEC contender for the 2026-27 season by loading up on size in the front court. They already inked 7 foot 1 center Bucky Oboye from Santa Clara last week and French 7 footer Narcissi Engoi back in March. Now on Monday, they landed a big commitment from 6 foot 10 forward Owen Freeman out of Creighton. Freeman's journey has been a rollercoaster. He started at Iowa, snagging big 10 freshmen of the year, honors with 10.6 points 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blots per game as a rookie. His sophomore year there blew up even more. Averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 boards on 64 percent shooting but a finger injury for surgery and sideline him for Iowa's final 14 games leading him to the transfer portal and then Creighton. Things didn't click with the Blue Jays. He came off the bench mostly starting just 9 of 26 games with minutes

1:03dropping to 11.9 per and 5 points a game on 60 percent shooting. Rated a four-star transfer and the 23rd best center in the portal, Auburn's betting Freeman recaptures that Iowa fire, especially with guards. Tahad Pediford and Kevin Overton returning to drop 15.4 and 14.1 points per game. If these front court bets deliver on defense and boards, the Tigers could push hard for an SEC title and a deep NCAA run next year. Pearl's vision is coming together piece by massive peace.