Walker Kessler sets Auburn school record against Ole Miss

As he continues his domination on the defensive end all season, Auburn center Walker Kessler set a new school record against Ole Miss on Wednesday. With his fourth block of the game, Kessler is now the single-season blocks leader in Auburn history with 127 blocks. He passed Kyle Davis’s mark of 126 blocks, which has stood since the 2002-03 season.

Walker Kessler enters Auburn record books

Early in the first half on Wednesday, Kessler recorded the record-tying block as he pinned a shot against the backboard. After a stretch that saw Kessler running up and down the court, he was given a breather and went to the bench. With under three minutes remaining in the game, Kessler checked back in and set the record on the very first defensive possession for Auburn.

After spending a season with North Carolina where he saw limited action, the Tigers appear to have found a young star and anchor for their defense in Kessler. Leading the SEC and the entire nation, Kessler averages 4.6 blocks per game and has had seven games with seven or more blocks. Kessler’s 127 blocks is more than 10 teams in the SEC have in total.

If Kessler’s future is with Auburn for the long term his eyes might be on the most prolific shot blocker in school history, Kyle Davis. From 2000 to 2004, Davis led the SEC in blocks every single season of his college career. As Kessler now stands alone atop the program’s record books, Davis still holds the second, third and fourth highest single-season block totals in Auburn history. Davis is still third all-time in the SEC for career blocks, trailing only behind LSU and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado.

Kessler finished off the first half with another block, as the broadcasting team joked that other teams should just instruct their post players to pass the ball out if Kessler is defending them. Auburn led Ole Miss 43-31 by the half, including Kessler’s 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.