'Hard to put into words': An exclusive look inside Auburn's historic national title run

Just a couple of weeks ago in Arizona’s McKale Memorial Center, as the final minutes ticked down in No. 2 Auburn’s clash against No. 1 Alabama in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Intercollegiate Tournament finals, the Tigers found themselves on the brink of history.

Leading by five with just 2:30 remaining, Auburn junior Jude Hiley fired a deep triple from the top of the key, marking his first made three of the tournament.

And it was an important one, serving as the final dagger to propel the Tigers to the program’s first-ever national championship.

“I don't even know what I saw,” Hiley said on his game-securing 3-pointer. “I think I just caught the ball and saw some separation and just fired the shot up. It definitely was not the best look to get, but I'd hit a couple in a row, so I was feeling good.”

Hiley, who received Most Valuable Player honors, certainly had the “hot hand,” embarking on an 11-0 run of his own in the closing stages of the contest and ultimately lifting Auburn to a level it hadn’t reached in a decade.

After Auburn Adapted Athletics launched in 2010, Auburn’s wheelchair basketball program officially commenced in 2016, but it consisted of a handful of student-athletes along with community members to fill the roster.

However, when head coach Robb Taylor took over in 2017, just a year after Auburn began competing in the college division, the Tigers started recruiting prospective student-athletes.

From then, Taylor and company have been building the program — and they’ve finally reached the national pinnacle of the sport.

For Taylor, when the buzzer hit triple zeroes and Auburn hoisted the hardware, he couldn’t help but think about the players and personnel who came before the 2026 National Champions and helped lay the foundation.

“It’s one of those things that is hard to put into words. You're just so excited, you're in shock that it happened, and then for me, it was just reflecting on all the athletes that came before this current group,” Taylor said. “And it was like, man, all the work that we put in over the years to get to that point, it was like we finally had the team to do it, but it was remembering everybody that came before to help us get there.”

“And then it was just about celebrating with the guys and, you know, just letting the whole thing sink in that we're national champions,” Taylor added.

Not only did April 4 mark the program’s first national title, but the Tigers defeated their arch-rival en route to the championship. 

Auburn and Alabama had already faced each other six times throughout the regular season, and the compiled record stood at 3-3 heading into nationals. The Tigers started the year 1-2 against the Crimson Tide, but they emerged victorious 68-64 in the most recent meeting on March 6.

So, in a sense, the title game somewhat served as the game-seven tiebreaker between the two schools, which, according to Hiley, may have added some extra juice and motivation stemming from his lifelong Auburn fandom.

“I grew up an Auburn fan and one of my best friends growing up was an Alabama fan, so we played the Iron Bowl like every day after school,” Hiley said. “So it wasn't my first Iron Bowl, and it won't be my last, but it definitely added some extra intensity.”

“And to be able to rub that in Alabama's face is always great, because I always say I've been a lifetime Auburn fan, which also means you're a lifetime Alabama hater.”

After winning all three contests by double digits at nationals, including a dominant 29-point thrashing of Southwest Minnesota State in the semifinals, Auburn finished the season with a 29-7 overall record.

The Tigers kicked off the year 1-3, with the third loss coming to Alabama, but they certainly responded and bounced back when it mattered most. Taylor’s squad won 22 of its final 23 games of the season, largely thanks to a 16-game winning streak that spanned across January and February.

“I think the entire season, we looked at ourselves and we embraced the underdog,” Taylor said. “I think too many times people in the division overlooked us and just thought of us as, hey, that's Auburn. They'll fade down the stretch like they've done historically. And I'm proud of the fact that the guys kind of embrace that and use that every game to help keep a level head and just fight and play together and do what we needed to do.”

When asked if Taylor could describe the season in just one word, he described a term that properly entailed all aspects of his team’s journey that ultimately lifted Auburn to the title: incredible.

“I think because of what we were able to accomplish this year, how we were able to do it, the vision that we had at the beginning of the year, how early on we were focused on making sure that we had lineups and that we had depth. And sticking with that plan the entire year… it was just incredible how everything was able to come together,” Taylor said.

On the other hand, Hiley chose a word that remained consistent with one of Auburn’s most beloved values.

“I’ll go with family, keep it themed towards Auburn. Just the whole team being like real brothers and being brought together,” Hiley explained. “And I mean, even the support staff, we had just everyone being so intertwined and knowing we really acted as one, I feel like throughout most of the season.”

So, now that they've conquered a national championship, what’s next for Taylor and the Tigers?

Taylor says he’s “optimistic” heading into next season, even with three crucial seniors — Jake Eastwood, Evan Heller and Jay Denning — set to graduate. The trio has combined for over 5,000 career points, with Eastwood boasting over 2,600 points of his own, making him Auburn’s all-time leading scorer.

“We're learning, we're working to learn from each other and grow as a program. So that way, we compete in April or March, whenever we get to our national tournament,” Taylor said. “So we have a lot of great pieces that are returning.

With the loss of Eastwood, Heller and Denning, the Tigers will look to replace a large portion of the offensive production and veteran leadership that could initially be lacking in their absence.

However, young talents such as Drew Beutel, who led the team in scoring this season with 501 total points, will likely headline a group that is “eager to step up,” according to Taylor.

Taylor recognizes that it’s certainly not going to be an easy task to repeat next year, but if they can grow and develop like this year’s squad, the Tigers could very well spark another national championship run in the near future.

“It's going to be more of a challenge to repeat next year. But if the guys continue to grow the way that they did this year, we should be competing for the national title again.”