Auburn In Running For Two Surprise Basketball Transfers

After the Class of 2022 was granted an extra year of eligibility, Auburn is looking to build its roster up even more.

Baylor Bears guard Dan Skillings Jr. (0) has Auburn as a potential transfer location in the upcoming days. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The modern era of the NCAA, especially as it relates to the transfer portal and eligibility, is a weird one, but the Auburn Tigers are looking to take advantage of any benefit there is to find.

Case in point: all NCAA basketball players from the class of 2022 were granted temporary injunctions against the NCAA, allowing them to play for a fifth year, and the Tigers are in the mix to land two top targets in the transfer portal.

The first of these players is Baylor’s Dan Skillings, Jr., who averaged 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and two assists per game last season. He previously spent three years as a guard for the Cincinnati Bearcats. 

“Baylor’s Dan Skillings has already received interest from Washington, Auburn, ASU, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Miss State, GCU and Butler,” basketball analyst Jeff Goodman wrote in a post shared on X.

Skillings, a senior, could provide a helping hand with depth on the Tigers’ roster, which is set to depend mainly on returning guards Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton this season. Additionally, the Tigers have picked up George Kimble from Vanderbilt and Mantas Rubštavičius from overseas, both of whom should see significant playing time in 2026.

The other key piece the Tigers are gunning for is Dug McDaniel, a point guard who played at Memphis for the 2025 season after a two-year stint with Michigan and one year with Kansas State. If McDaniel comes to Auburn, though, he would be competing directly with Tahaad Pettiford for the point guard spot, unless he decides to move elsewhere on the floor.

“Dug McDaniel has received interest from Arizona State, Stanford, Auburn, Iowa State, USC, Cincinnati, NC State, Utah, Oregon and Duquesne,” Goodman wrote.

Though the Tigers are quite well set up this season at the forward and center positions, a little extra depth up top could be quite helpful to head coach Steven Pearl, who is now in his second season as the head coach of the Tigers. McDaniel and Skillings could provide that depth, as well as a veteran presence which, in most cases, is quite helpful, especially with a young team like the Tigers.

However, the Tigers will have to land either or both of the pair first, and as Goodman shared, there are several teams gunning after each one. Personally, I have a hard time expecting these two to land at Auburn, given the talent the roster already has, and I expect them to go somewhere that will allow them to get the most possible quality minutes in their final season of eligibility.

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