Auburn's Kevin Overton driven to win: 'That's why I came back'

AUBURN, Ala. –  Back in the lab after leading Auburn to the NIT championship and being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Auburn’s Kevin Overton hones his sharpshooting skills ahead of his senior season.

“You grow, you get stronger, you keep building,” said Overton, who made 95 of 230 3-point attempts last season for a team-leading 41.3-percent clip. “I take what feels open, and teams are not going to let me toe the line every game.”

In Auburn’s NIT championship win over Tulsa, Overton scored 26 points and made five 3s, including one that sent the game to overtime and a 40-footer in OT.

“I have to be able to extend those, shoot comfortably off the dribble both ways,” he said. “Those are things I’m working on. It’ll all come together, I’m sure.”

Two days after the season ended, Overton announced he would be remaining on the Plains for another year.

“A consistent love. It wasn’t really a hard decision for me,” said Overton, who averaged 14.1 points per game in his first season at Auburn. “I feel like I owe the people who decided to believe in me when I was at my lowest in college, to get things done, to win games. It ultimately came down to the staff believing in me.”

Four days after Overton announced his decision to return, point guard Tahaad Pettiford did as well, giving Auburn a pair of seasoned southpaws, lethal lefties who combined to average 29.5 points per game last season and could form one of the SEC’s top backcourts in 2027.

“As real as he is, he decided to come back,” Overton said of Pettiford. “And here we are. Once it comes to those big moments, big games and chemistry moments, I think it’ll show tenfold over our entire team.”

Overton sees leadership as one of his biggest contributions this season.

“I’m trying to get better in my decision making,” said Overton, who also led Auburn by making 86 percent of his free throws last season. “Trying to keep my body in a better place. I’m preparing for things bigger than the college level at this point. Day to day, keeping my composure in those moments – especially me and Tahaad – making those plays you have to make to win games or keep the game in a good place, or make the next step to a 12 or 15-point lead.”

During June, the Tigers have begun to prepare for the 2026-27 season, with morning conditioning and afternoon practices.

“Trying to collectively get us all on the same page in terms of conditioning, togetherness and team bonding,” said Overton, noting that 7-foot-1 transfer Bukky Oboye has impressed in summer workouts. “He’s been tremendous in terms of his day-to-day progress. Our freshman, Caleb (Williams), will be somebody who can help us with his maturity at a young age.

“George (Kimble III) and Owen Freeman have a chip on their shoulders because of injuries and not being able to play. You can see that hunger. Thomas Dowd is a dog all-around, can do everything. Adam (Olsen), great shooter, great player coming from a situation where he was the best player on his team. He’s versatile, can play the three and the four. We’ve got a lot of pieces now.”

One of the Tigers’ most important pieces, Kevin Overton also enters his senior season with a chip on his shoulder, eager to lead Auburn to victory with each deep 3-pointer.

“I think this will be a very point-proving group,” he said. “We wanted to get some things done last year that we didn’t get done. This year, I think we can get it done with the pieces we have, in terms of consistency over 40 minutes.

“To Auburn fans, just look forward to winning again. Winning is still where my head is at and that’s why I came back.”

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