Auburn's already a winner

Good morning! There’s plenty of transfer portal news from Wednesday, but we’ll shift our focus to the Final Four starting tomorrow. And if you’re in San Antonio, be sure to stop by Smoke Skybar. We’ll have live shows from 4-7 pm local time tonight, Friday and Sunday.

Let's get to Wednesday’s news.

1. Auburn gets big portal win before Final Four

How does the oldest team in the Final Four ensure it’s in position to win next season? Through the transfer portal.

Keyshawn Hall was an All-Big 12 player and one of the league’s most capable scorers, including a 40-point outing vs. Arizona State. The 6-7 junior can play on the wing or at power forward. And while he can prone to turnovers and is an average 3-point shooter (35%), he’ll certainly provide offensive punch for Bruce Pearl’s team next season.

Auburn has 10 seniors on its roster, six of whom are starters or rotation players. That includes Chad Baker-Mazara, who technically has an extra year of eligibility with the JUCO ruling after the Diego Pavia lawsuit. Freshmen Tahaad Pettiford and wing Jahki Howard are the only underclassmen on the roster.

Auburn also has three incoming freshman and has one JUCO player (Abdul Bashir) signed for 2025-26. Hall’s addition won’t be Auburn’s last portal move.

Other notable portal commits

Rashad King to LSU

The 6-6 guard had a breakout junior season, leading Northeastern with 18.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg. He’s the third commitment for the Tigers already, joining former Mississippi State center Michael Nwoko and UNLV guard, Dedan Thomas Jr. It’s a fine start for LSU and looks to be an upgrade over this season’s roster.

Nik Graves to Creighton

Creighton already landed Iowa big Owen Freeman as Ryan Kalkbrenner’s replacement. On Thursday, they found some scoring punch from Charlotte’s leading scorer. Graves, a 6-3 junior guard, averaged 17.5 ppg this season, including a season-high 32 points against East Carolina. He’s a career 33% 3-point shooter.

Dusty Stromer to Grand Canyon

The former top-100 prospect left Gonzaga after two years, where he was an occasional starter as a freshman, but saw his time decrease this season. He’ll have plenty of opportunity at Grand Canyon, which must replaces star guards Tyon-Grant Foster and Rayshon Harrison. He should be one of the WAC’s top players next season — and then back in the WCC as a senior.

Dylan Andrews to Boise State

The junior guard started his last two years at UCLA, but his scoring went from 13 ppg to 7 ppg this past season. Boise needs Andrews to be a lead guard and a primary scoring option with senior Tyson Degenhart graduating.

• Chauncey Wiggins to Florida State

• Malik Reneau to Miami

• Connor Enright to Indiana

• Daquan Davis to Providence

• Karon Boyd to Wichita State

• Davin Cosby to Kennesaw State

• Cole Hargrove to Providence

• Langston Love to Georgetown

• Adam Clark to Seton Hall

• Bryson Dawson to Youngstown State

• Cooper Schwieger to Wake Forest

• Jahnathan Lamothe to UNC Wilmington

• Cameron Manyawu to Iowa

• Kobe Knox to South Carolina

• Lathan Sommerville to Washington

• Kaleb Banks to DePaul

• Nate Kingz to Syracuse

• Nick Davidson to Clemson

• Alyn Breed to NC State

• BJ Omot to Minnesota

2. Jayden Quaintance’s in the portal* (+ more entrants)

Few players who enter this year’s transfer portal will be more talented than Jayden Quaintance. But there’s a catch.

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