Tennessee basketball transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield visits Auburn

AUBURN — Tennessee basketball transfer and former five-star recruit Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is visiting Auburn on Thursday.

The 6-foot-10 power forward lists Auburn among his final five schools, along with Louisville, Wake Forest, Arizona State and SMU. He played 12.5 minutes per game in his lone season at Tennessee, averaging 3.9 points and three rebounds.

Huntley-Hatfield is from Clarksville, Tennessee. He was the No. 26 overall prospect in the 2021 class and No. 7 at his position after reclassifying from the 2022 class. He entered the transfer portal April 10.

Auburn is trying to complete a frontcourt reload after losing the All-American duo of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler to the NBA Draft after both spent one season on the Plains. Coach Bruce Pearl found his replacement for Kessler when the No. 15 recruit in the 2022 class, Yohan Traore, committed March 31 and signed in April.

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Traore is a face-up scorer on offense and could play the four or five for Auburn in 2022-23. As of his signing, it seemed most likely that he would be the starting center while returner Jaylin Williams could start at the four. But that other frontcourt position remains a hole that Huntley-Hatfield could fill.

Williams is a solid starting option who was efficient behind Smith last season, but with Huntley-Hatfield, Auburn's frontcourt would have a more fluid setup between the four and five. The Tigers currently have three incoming freshmen joining the 2022-23 roster and no incoming transfers.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Tennessee basketball transfer, visits Auburn