'A blessing beyond imagination' for Auburn basketball's Cardwell brothers

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn basketball fans will see two Cardwells on the court this season at Neville Arena.

Dylan, a fifth-year center and fan favorite, and his younger brother, Drake, a redshirt freshman walk-on shooting guard.

Drake’s path to the Plains from the Cardwells’ hometown of Augusta, Georgia, detoured last year through Kennesaw State, where Drake’s plans to walk on ran into a roadblock when the Owls’ roster was full.

Undaunted, Drake became a practice player helping KSU’s women’s team for a few months before playing pickup games on Fridays with his FedEx coworkers, who encouraged him to give college hoops another try.

“’You could seriously do it,’” they told Drake, who considered the idea before asking his mother, Michele Cardwell, a question. “’What if I walked on at Auburn?’ I didn’t think it was a possibility at first. It was such a big reach.”

While Drake considered his options, Dylan, two and a half years older, considered his own. After graduating with honors from the Harbert College of Business while helping Auburn win the 2022 SEC regular season championship and the 2024 SEC Tournament title, Dylan considered entering the NBA Draft before returning for a fifth season on the Plains.

“That played a role in me coming back to Auburn,” Dylan said of the opportunity to be teammates with his younger brother. “He was a great high school player. He averaged around 15 his senior year.”

A late bloomer, the 6-foot-5 Drake came off the bench for his junior varsity team as a 10^th-grader. In less than a year, he started for the varsity Evans High School.

“A really big jump,” Drake said. “I got in tune with the work ethic. Seeing how successful Dylan was, I always looked up to him. When I was little, I always wanted to be like him.

“Seeing how hard he was working and where he was going in life, I said I really want to achieve and be like him. He’s a really good person to look up to.”

Hitting the gym with a vengeance, Drake lifted weights at 5 a.m. with his mom on mornings he wasn’t practicing at his high school gym.

“After school, I would work out again at the YMCA,” Drake said. “Every single day, I went there after school no matter what. Then I went to practice after that.”

This season will be the brothers’ first as teammates.

“I never thought it would be able to happen,” Drake said.  “It’s been awesome. The team and coaches are very welcoming. They made me feel included. It feels awesome to be part of a family again.”

“I want him to build his own legacy,” Dylan said. “I want to open doors for him, but at the end of the day, he’s his own person. He’s a great kid, he’s humble, he wants to learn, he wants to be successful, and he just wants an opportunity.”

“I’m a hard worker,” Drake said. “I’m a family man and I’m kind. I’ll talk to anyone.”

Drake and Dylan’s Neville Arena lockers are separated by only a few teammates.

“I started tearing up,” Drake recalled. “Wow, I’m really here. To see my name on the locker almost next to my brother’s name, it’s insane. It’s all God, for real.”

“My younger brother coming to Auburn is going to give us a chance to be best buddies,” said Dylan, who attended three high schools including Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. “We didn’t really grow up together after my 11^th-grade year. It’s our first year living together since 2018 so it should be fun.”

Says Drake, “I’m happy to see him again and form a bond again. Being his brother and his friend again is going to be special.”

Not only are the Cardwell brothers teammates, they’re also roommates.

“We’ve always been good friends, but we have a chance to bond because we’re roommates now,” said Dylan, who insists his younger brother follows one house rule. “You can have your clothes wherever. Just make sure there’s no trash.”

Like his older brother, Drake is also enrolled in the Harbert College of Business, majoring in management and minoring in entrepreneurship.

Dylan encouraged Drake to emulate another Auburn walk-on who earned a scholarship and a significant role: Lior Berman.

“I want him to have a similar path,” Dylan said, “as far as earning a scholarship, earning a degree and finishing the right way at Auburn. I told him to learn from Lior. Lior was in the gym more than anybody. He stayed in the gym and it paid off tremendously, now he’s playing professionally in Israel.

“I said if he wants it bad enough, he can get it. It just takes work and time.”

Drake looks forward to the challenge of being on the scout team and learning to run the plays of Auburn’s opponents.

“Learning how they play and being able to play like them in practice I feel is going to help me,” Drake said.

The Cardwells are following in the basketball shoes of the Harper brothers: older brother Jared led Auburn to the 2019 Final Four while younger brother Jalen walked on and played on the Tigers’ scout team from 2022-24.

“J-Harp was my locker neighbor,” Dylan said. “Hearing how grateful he was to come to Auburn, and how much that meant to Jared as well, seeing his brother finish at Auburn. I’m sure it made their family proud.

“It’s made my mom and my younger brother proud. My grandfather in heaven, I’m sure he’s proud as well.”

“Dylan and I push each other,” Drake said. “We can help each other break through a threshold to get to the next level.”

While adjusting to the skill and physicality of SEC basketball, Drake looks to Dylan for inspiration.  

“He’s the best big brother you could ever ask for,” Drake said. “He’s such a great mentor, even outside of basketball. A great person to look up to. I love him.”

Dylan Cardwell’s last season on the Plains is Drake’s first. A chance to make history, together.

“It means the world to me,” Dylan said. “It’s always opening the door for the next man. To give him this opportunity to play for one of the best programs in the country and the best university in the country, it’s a blessing beyond imagination.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer