Elyjah Freeman, a forward formerly of D2 Lincoln Memorial, announced his intent to transfer to Auburn on Saturday, bringing the Tigers’ transfer haul to four players since the conclusion of the regular season. Freeman’s path to Auburn is similar to the one that Denver Jones and Johni Broome took by starting off as an “under-the-radar” high school recruit that began his career at a smaller college. Pearl believes that Freeman could be a great player in orange and blue, and will work on transitioning him to a new position.

“Elyjah Freeman is your classic late bloomer,” Pearl said of Freeman. “He was under recruited out of high school, goes to Lincoln Memorial and just does a tremendous job. One of the best offensive players in all of Division II basketball as a freshman, Elyjah is an incredibly hard worker, dedicated and driven. He’s got some instincts that are hard to teach. He also has the size of a forward, but he will play a big guard position for Auburn. Incredible mom and great support at home. He was one of the best young players we evaluated in the portal this year.”