While Auburn’s 2019-20 team continues to grow and improve, the recruits for the 2020-21 season continue to roll in.
The class is headlined by the No. 19 player in the nation, 5-star point guard Sharife Cooper, who is currently the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Auburn. Last Saturday, Cooper officially signed his letter of intent to play at Auburn. The Powder Springs, Georgia, native is currently a senior at McEachern High School, the same high school as current Auburn freshmen Isaac Okoro and Babatunde Akingbola.
The 6-foot point guard led his team to a 32-0 record and won the Class 7A state championship last season. Cooper averaged 27.2 points, 8.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game last season and has continued to play a big role during his senior season.
Cooper is joined by Chris Moore, a 4-star power forward from West Memphis, Arkansas. Moore is ranked as the 97th-best in the nation and the No. 19 power forward. Moore was heavily recruited by Arkansas and Memphis, but chose Auburn last Saturday. Moore instantly pushed Auburn's class from being ranked 36th nationally to No. 10.
Auburn also has a commitment from 3-star shooting guard Justin Powell, who is the 164th player in the nation. Powell is the second-highest rated player coming out of the state of Kentucky.
A lot of next season’s lineup will be decided by Okoro, who is having a massive impact early on for the Tigers. Okoro could declare for the draft if his stock soars that high this season. If Okoro were to return, Auburn would likely boast one of its best starting lineups in the school’s history.
Cooper looks likely to compete with current freshman guard Tyrell Jones to take over as the starting point guard next season once J’Von McCormick graduates. Moore could also instantly become a starter with forward Danjel Purifoy graduating after this season. Powell’s role is not as clear as Auburn already has Jamal Johnson, Devan Cambridge and Allen Flanigan all potentially taking over for Samir Doughty at shooting guard next year. Powell will obviously play a large role for Auburn next year, it’s just not as clear at the moment where he’ll fill into the lineup.
With these three commitments, Auburn currently has the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation. Head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers are also targeting 5-star guard Jalen Green, forward Greg Brown and guard Cameron Thomas. They’re also making a run at 4-star prospects Jaylin Williams, Keondre Montgomery and Cliff Omuruyi. While Auburn isn’t guaranteed to get any of these players, Williams has narrowed down his choices to Arkansas and Auburn. Auburn is also heavily in the running for Montgomery.
Currently Auburn trails only Kentucky (No. 1 in nation) and Tennessee (No. 4 in nation) in SEC recruiting rankings for next season.
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