Auburn is trying to squeeze one more advantage out of the modern transfer portal chaos, and the Tigers have put themselves in the mix for two experienced guards who could help round out the roster.
The names to know are Baylor’s Dan Skillings, Jr. and Dug McDaniel, two players with plenty of college mileage and a fresh path to another season after NCAA basketball players from the class of 2022 were granted temporary injunctions against the NCAA, opening the door to a fifth year.
Skillings brings a steady all-around line to the table. Last season, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and two assists per game.
Before Baylor, he spent three seasons as a guard at Cincinnati. Basketball analyst Jeff Goodman said, “Baylor’s Dan Skillings has already received interest from Washington, Auburn, ASU, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Miss State, GCU and Butler,” in a post shared on X.
For Auburn, Skillings would give Steven Pearl another experienced piece as the Tigers head into his second season at the helm. The roster is expected to lean heavily on returning guards Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton, while George Kimble, who came over from Vanderbilt, and Mantas Rubštavičius, who arrived from overseas, are also in line for major minutes in 2026.
McDaniel is the other big name Auburn is tracking. The point guard played at Memphis in 2025 after earlier stops at Michigan and Kansas State. His fit in Auburn would be a little trickier, at least on paper, because he would be competing directly with Pettiford for minutes at the point unless he shifted to another spot on the floor.
Goodman wrote, “Dug McDaniel has received interest from Arizona State, Stanford, Auburn, Iowa State, USC, Cincinnati, NC State, Utah, Oregon and Duquesne.”
Even with Auburn looking solid in the frontcourt, adding another veteran guard or two would give Pearl more depth and flexibility. That said, both players have plenty of options, and Auburn is hardly alone in chasing them. The bigger question is whether either one sees the Tigers as the best place to maximize final-year minutes.
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