The Auburn Live Morning Reads: July 1

Good morning, Auburn fans, and welcome to the Morning Reads. Every day, we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Tigers’ athletics, and the sporing world. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Auburn football, recruiting, basketball, baseball and much more in Morning Reads.

Are you subscribed to Auburn Live yet?

Are you ready to get all your latest Auburn news in one place? Become a member of Auburn Live today. With your Auburn Live/On3+ membership, you’ll not only have access to the everything that’s happening with the Tigers, but you’ll also be able to peruse other fan sites within the network to hear just how rivals are feeling about Auburn, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter.

In case you missed it: Auburn’s most important players

In case you missed it, the final installment of Auburn’s most important players was published on Thursday. There was certainly some debate on The Corner, but here’s the final list and links to read:

No. 1-7

No. 8-12

No. 13-17

No. 18-22

No. 23-27

No. 28-32

Auburn, Memphis will play basketball in Atlanta

Auburn Live confirmed reports that Auburn will play Memphis in Atlanta in basketball on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers defeated Memphis 74-71 on December 12, 2020 inside Phillips Arena. Who led Auburn in scoring that game? Try freshman Justin Powell with 26 points. Powell, of course, has since transferred twice. Allen Flanigan also added 16 points in that game. Jaylin Williams, Dylan Cardwell and Chris Moore all played minutes in that win as well.

For Auburn, it was a good scheduling move. It’s another game in Atlanta, where the fanbase showed out for the game against Nebraska last December. And, it’s likely a Quad I game, important for NCAA Tournament seeding.

Two Auburn players inside On3’s Top 20 SEC returners

The On3 Impact 300 ranks the best players in college football entering the 2022 season, with a full release coming in the next few weeks. Prior to the release of the inaugural list – which also factors into the calculation of the On3 NIL Valuation – On3 has revealed the Top 20 returning SEC players.

Among them, Auburn’s Tank Bigsby (No. 17) and Colby Wooden (No. 20) make the list.

Regarding Bigsby, they say: Tank Bigsby broke 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career last season and will likely do it again for Auburn in 2022. On top of 1,099 rushing yards, he had 10 scores and 184 yards receiving. Bigsby’s NIL value is $546,000 ahead of the 2022 season.

Regarding Wooden, they say: Colby Wooden has some versatility, able to play both inside at tackle and outside at end. He has racked up 107 career tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 9.0 sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. He ranks No. 72 in the NIL 100 rankings, carrying a current valuation of $434,000.

Joseph Gonzalez impressing early at USA Team camp

Sophomore pitcher Joseph Gonzalez earned an invitation to the 2022 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp and seems to be pitching well. Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com said this of Gonzalez on Thursday evening:

So far Joseph Gonzalez of @AuburnBaseball has had the best outing in this USA Baseball game: 3 K in 2 perfect innings, attacked at 90-93 with that heavy sinker, bumped 94-95, used the short 84-87 cutter/slider effectively.

The National Team Training Camp features 48-50 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina from June 30–July 4. USA Baseball will name a final, 26-man Collegiate National Team roster after training camp that will represent the United States at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands from July 9–15.

USC, UCLA headed to the Big Ten

USC and UCLA plan to move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten as early as 2024, according to college football insider Jon Wilner. The deal has not been finalized at this time but would provide another major shakeup in the landscape of college athletics. USC and UCLA did both announce the moves on Thursday evening, making if appear official.

More on the move from On3’s James Fletcher:

USC and UCLA are not only two of the Pac-12’s most successful schools across athletics, but are two of the largest brands in the country which offer a new market opportunity for the Big Ten. While they fall far outside the current geographic landscape of the conference, the move promises to provide great financial benefit for all parties.

The move would serve as the next major domino to fall in conference realignment after Texas and Oklahoma announced their intention to join the SEC by 2025. As conference commissioners failed to come to a resolution on a College Football Playoff format, the race to stockpile blue-blood programs together seems to be heating up.

There’s talk among national college football writers that things are headed towards two conferences: The Big Ten and the SEC, both with upwards of 20+ teams. It certainly seems the Pac 12, ACC and Big 12 are in danger of needing to merge with the now two strongest conferences in America. We’ll see how it plays out.

UCLA and USC to the Big Ten? Simply more proof that money wins out

If USC and UCLA move to the Big Ten Conference, then college athletics as we know it is irreparably broken. The framework of regionally based conferences that have spanned from sea to shining sea for more than a century will be replaced by two mega-conferences, the Big Ten and Southeastern, with an assortment of other leagues in their wake.

That’s not to say that what follows won’t deliver what we crave from October afternoons in Baton Rouge and June evenings in Omaha, from Final Fours and College Cups and all the other NCAA championships. But the move would cement the financial stratification of college athletics.

Here’s the latest from Ivan Maisel on the situation.