Head coach Sean Miller and his staff addressed a major remaining need in the NCAA transfer portal with the Sunday commitment of former Auburn Tigers forward Elyjah Freeman.
The 6’8, 185-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Out of Wellington (Fla.) in the 2024 recruiting class,
Freeman was an unranked prospect who signed with Lincoln Memorial, a DII school. As a freshman, Freeman was named to the NABC Southeast Region All-District Second Team and earned South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year recognition after averaging 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 31 games while starting in 28 contests.
After entering the NCAA transfer portal, Freeman was ranked as the No. 112 overall player and the No. 22 small forward in the 247Sports rankings and signed with Auburn.
“Elyjah Freeman is your classic late bloomer,” Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl said. “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.”
In Freeman’s one season with the Tigers, he started in 21 games, averaging 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game in 26.9 minutes per game and leading Auburn with 49 steals. Freeman shot 44.4 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent from three, and 69.9 percent from the free-throw line. An efficient offensive player with a low turnover rate, Freeman is capable of getting to the rim and finishing with 28 dunks as a sophomore, although he struggled as a mid-range shooter, hitting 27.9 percent of those shots.
If Dailyn Swain remains in the 2026 NBA Draft, Freeman projects as the starting wing for Texas next to Colorado transfer guard Isaiah Johnson, guard Austin Goosby, TCU transfer forward David Punch, and center Matas Vokietiatis. Along with Johnson, Punch, and Tennessee transfer guard Amari Evans, Freeman is the fourth portal addition for Miller and his staff this window.
