A lot has changed for Auburn men’s basketball since losing to Florida in the 2025 Final Four. Head coach Bruce Pearl retired as the team started practice, and most of the team from last year is gone. What has not changed is point guard Tahaad Pettiford. His return was the biggest roster news the team received after the season.
On Monday, the SEC announced that Pettiford was named preseason first-team All-SEC. He joins Alex Condon (Florida), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), and Labaron Philon Jr. (Alabama). Pettiford is not just expected to be one of the best guards in the SEC, but nationally as well. He is the only Auburn player named to any of the preseason All-SEC teams.
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Last season as a freshman, he averaged 11.6 points per game and 3.0 assists. During the NCAA Tournament, he averaged 15.2 points per game and 3.6 assists. After the season, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and made the NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team. A big change this season for Pettiford will be that he will start for the Tigers. Last season, he mostly came off the bench playing behind Denver Jones at the point guard position. He mostly received starter minutes, though, averaging almost 23 minutes a game.
Auburn was picked to finish sixth in the SEC according to the media, behind Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas. They enter the season ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP Top 25. New head coach Steven Pearl is tasked with getting a new roster to play well together. They welcome UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall and Mississippi State transfer KeShawn Murphy.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn basketball: Tahaad Pettiford named preseason first team All-SEC
