Auburn Adds Another Big Man, Former Big Ten Freshman of the Year

The Auburn Tigers have gotten a commitment from another big body.

Owen Freeman played for the Creighton Bluejays after spending two years at Iowa. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Head coach Steven Pearl and the Auburn Tigers seem to have a clear mission this offseason when it comes to building an SEC contender for 2026/27: Get bigger and stronger.

Last week, Auburn signed 7'1 center Bukky Oboye from Santa Clara, and yhey signed French 7-footer Narcisse Ngoy to close the month of March.

On Monday, they got a commitment from Creighton 6-10 forward Owen Freeman, per multiple reports, including Justin Hokanson of On3.

Freeman began his career playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023/24 season, where he was named Big Ten freshman of the year after averaging 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.

He followed up his freshman campaign with an even better sophomore season, averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on 64% shooting. Unfortunately, his season was cut short because of surgery on his finger, and he missed the team's final 14 games.

He entered the transfer portal following and made his way to Creighton, where he never quite found his footing. He only started nine games, playing in 26. His minutes per game fell from 26.4 at Iowa the previous season to just 11.9 last year for the Bluejays. He still managed to hit on 60% of his shots while averaging 5.0 points per game.

Owen Freeman (Iowa ➡️ Creighton) came off the bench and delivered in his debut for the Bluejays 🔵

19 points
4 rebounds
9-11 FG pic.twitter.com/5KJPBFwT1f

— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) November 6, 2025

247Sports rates Freeman as a 4-star transfer and the No. 23 center in the portal.

"What immediately jumps out about Freeman is the way in which he runs the court," basketball director Eric Bossi said of Freeman coming out of Moline High School in Bradley, Ill. "He covers the ground with long, graceful strides and never labors to keep up with the pace of the game. Not only can he run, he has excellent hands and does a great job of catching, gathering and making his way into a move while on the run."

Pearl and the Tigers are hoping he can return to the form that had him on an All-Big-Ten trajectory in 2025 before injuring his finger. Auburn has plenty of scoring in the backcourt with the return of guards Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton.

Pettiford averaged 15.4 points per game, and Overton added 14.1. If they can get production and defense from their frontcourt transfers, the Tigers could be back in contention for the SEC Championship and a deep NCAA Tournament run in 2026/27.

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