Auburn Guard Tahaad Pettiford Named to Two Prestigious Lists

The Auburn Tigers guard has been reward for his return to college by being named to two major lists in the preseason

Expectations are high for the Auburn Tigers' sophomore guard | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn Tigers sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford was named to the SEC men’s basketball coaches’ preseason All-SEC first team and the NABC’s Division I Player of the Year Watch List on Thursday, ahead of the team’s final preseason tune-up.

No surprise here 😤 pic.twitter.com/MQxR3ca7Gg

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) October 30, 2025

He’s also one of 20 players to be named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches watchlist for the 2026 Player of the Year Award. It marks the third consecutive year that an Auburn player has appeared on the NABC preseason watch list, with the last two seasons being former Auburn forward Johni Broome. 

The sophomore guard his second season on the Plains, played a key role in Auburn’s Final Four run last season. In his freshman campaign, he averaged 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists off the bench last season for the Tigers as a freshman. Pettiford finished the year with the fourth most assists ever in a single season by an Auburn freshman. 

Pettiford was also named to the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team last season during the Tigers’ postseason push. 

The Auburn Tigers have just the one representative on either of these lists. Bringing in former Big 12 leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, who averaged 18.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game last season at UCF. 

Pettiford is the only Auburn scholarship player from last year’s Final Four team to return to Auburn, with last year’s team being primarily seniors. But in his first year on the plains, he gained valuable experience as a freshman and learned from one of college basketball's coaching legends, Bruce Pearl. 

Now, Pettiford will lead a revamped Auburn team with first-year head coach Steven Pearl at the reins. Pettiford leads Auburn against a familiar foe from last season in a rematch of last season’s Maui Invitational Championship game against the Memphis Tigers in an exhibition matchup on Thursday evening. 

A preseason First Team All-SEC selection, Pettiford leads Auburn against the 2025 NCAA Tournament team and American Athletic Conference Champion, Memphis, in Atlanta on Thursday in both teams’ final exhibition before the regular season opener on Monday, Nov. 3.