It’s maybe the most open secret in college sports: There’s NIL-focused tampering in the transfer portal. Several players enter the transfer portal already knowing their destination.
Auburn has already been busy in the transfer portal even before its season ended abruptly with an upset loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 13 seed Yale.
But Auburn hasn’t been one to get players out of the portal immediately after their entry. Why? While many schools are getting a jump on top players, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said he won’t play that game.
“The combination of the NIL and the transfer portal and the automatic eligibility right away, that’s just uncharted waters for all of us,” Pearl said Thursday during his season review press conference. “Like, an NIL agent could literally call anybody on my roster and offer them some sort of NIL deal somewhere else, and it’s no longer tampering. I can tell you, we’re not going to do that. Just because it’s legal, I promise you, we’re not doing that. And I’ll fire a guy that ever tries to do it. That’s just not what I believe in. And we don’t have to. You don’t have to do it that way.”
Pearl later discussed thoughts on the full allowance for second-time transfers to move schools with no penalty. The NCAA is allowing this for all sports for the remaining of this athletics year due to a West Virginia federal judge’s decision.
“I don’t know what influence I have over change,” Pearl said. “I love the one-time transfer exception, I think it’s fine. If you’ve followed my career, I’ve always had transfers sit out. I love when transfers come in and sit out and then the following year they’re ready to go. Samir Doughty was a good example of that. I don’t think that you should — sometimes sitting out gets looked at as a penalty. Sometimes sitting out and you’re working your body, and you’re working on your game and you’re working on your academics. You’re really not sitting out, you’re just not playing. But now what we have created with the transfer thing is at the end of every year, everybody can stay and everybody can leave and there’s just no order to it.”
Auburn has already been reportedly connected to more than a dozen players in the transfer portal going back to the SEC Tournament.
Since Auburn lost to Yale, Pearl nearly immediately went on the road recruiting.
“We got beat, and we got home Saturday morning at 4:30 from Montgomery,” Pearl said. “My staff and I were in the office at 10. I had to set an alarm to get up and get in at 10 o’clock. We worked Saturday and Sunday, evaluating what’s in the portal and what might be coming in the portal and our own team. And would you be shocked to know I’ve been recruiting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Got back late last night, and I’m leaving in an hour. So, it’s changed.”
There are two incoming freshmen: five-star guard Tahaad Pettiford and four-star forward Jahki Howard.
Auburn’s transfer portal decisions, however, will largely be based on impending decisions by centers Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. Pearl did not rule out the chance for Broome to return to Auburn, but knows it will be a financial decision comparing NIL money to what the NBA might offer.
Auburn has used the transfer portal to bring in some of its best players, including Broome. Three of Auburn’s four top scorers this season all arrived via transfer.
“One great thing about being at Auburn: guys like it here,” Pearl said. “They appreciate the opportunity to play here. They love their school. They love the Jungle. They love and appreciate the support they get. So in this crazy world of NIL and portal, we have a huge advantage at Auburn. Huge. The kids want to stay. And they don’t want to stay just because of me, I guarantee you. There’s a lot easier coaches to play for than me. They want to stay here because they love Auburn and Auburn Family. That’s facts.”
Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]