BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Determined to flip the script after frequently coming up short in the rebounding battle during his first season on the Plains, head coach Larry Vickers prioritized size when constructing Auburn’s roster for 2026-27.
“It was important for us to get stronger as a basketball team, to get more hips, more strength all across the board,” Vickers said Tuesday at SEC Tipoff ’27. “We were able to do that. I think we have a really solid forward room.”
To add power to the power forward position, Auburn added 6-foot-2 Jessica Peterson, who led the ACC in rebounding two years ago at SMU, along with 6-1 Miami transfer Danielle Osho. 6-foot-4 center Savannah Scott, an Auburn starter as a freshman in 2023-24, returns after a season at UCF, and 6-4 Quanirah Montague is back after missing most of last season with a knee injury.
“I think our four room has improved a ton,” said Vickers, lamenting a loss last season in which the Tigers’ rebounding margin was minus-31. “I never want that to absolutely happen again.”
The difference between this year’s roster and last year’s, says Vickers, is stark when it comes to improved rebounding.
“Not even close,” he said. “I have players fighting for rebounds in practice. Last year it wasn't that we didn't have that rebounding mindset, we were just so small. I'm excited about them as well as our guards having less pressure to rebound. Now we can get some leak-out buckets, or some easy ones another type of way.”
After winning 15 games in his first season at Auburn, Vickers seeks improvement in the Tigers’ conference record of 3-13.
“We just want to be significantly better,” he said. “Doubling that win total, being in the NCAA Tournament conversation, those are important pieces of the puzzle for us as we look to grow this thing to a national power again.”
On the recruiting trail, Vickers pitches Auburn women’s basketball’s championship pedigree and his system’s adaptability to the WNBA.
“With the history and the tradition of Auburn basketball and what Coach Ciampi did and what Nell (Fortner) did, it was about 15 years ago that we were holding the SEC championship trophy up,” he said. “When they walk in, they see that trophy, they see those Final Four trophies, and understanding what we are as a basketball program with 1,000 wins.
“We want to be a program to where when you watch us play basketball, they're going to say, hey, we're going to do that exact stuff on the next level, and we're going to call it the same things. As we recruit pros, because obviously you need a lot of pros to win in this league, they can say, hey, it will be beneficial if I go to Auburn because, the Xs and Os, the basketball, is going to transition very smoothly.”
After exhibitions in Birmingham on Wednesday and at Neville Arena Oct. 28, Auburn opens the 2026-27 season against Alabama State Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. CT on Tipoff on the Plains at Neville Arena.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer