Auburn's Walker Kessler declares for NBA Draft, will hire agent

Bruce Pearl will have to build his starting frontcourt from scratch next season.

On Sunday afternoon, Auburn Men’s Basketball All-American center Walker Kessler announced through his social media that he will enter his name in the 2022 NBA Draft. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports that the 7-foot-1 big man, who is currently projected as a late first-round pick, will hire an agent and forgo his remaining college eligibility. Earlier on Sunday, Walker was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

Walker will likely join projected top-three pick and fellow Auburn teammate, freshman Jabari Smith, in the NBA Draft process. Smith has yet to formally announce his decision but is widely expected to go pro.

🙏 pic.twitter.com/diXi5SxbxQ

— Walker Kessler (@WalkerKessler13) April 3, 2022

Kessler was one of the most imposing bigs in all of college basketball this past season after spending his first year at North Carolina. He averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks, and 1.1 steals in just 25.6 minutes per outing for the Tigers while shooting over 60 percent from the floor. In his lone outing against Kentucky on Jan. 22, Kessler dropped 19 points and seven rebounds on 8-10 shooting in an Auburn win.

Losing both Walker and Smith will be a significant blow to Coach Pearl’s future frontcourt plans as he follows up the program’s most successful season in over 20 years. Auburn did recently receive a commitment from 6-foot-10 five-star class of 2022 power forward Yohan Traore on March 31 and will return 6-foot-11 rising junior Dylan Cardwell, who averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in the 2021-22 season.

Pairing those two with a talented, veteran backcourt should make for another contending season in the SEC for Coach Pearl and the Tigers. But replacing two All-Americans is always going to be a challenge.

The 2022 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 23 in Brooklyn, NY.