Auburn star Pettiford apprehended on charge of DUI

• Myron MedcalfJul 12, 2025, 11:15 AM ET

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  Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.

Auburn star Tahaad Pettiford, an SEC Player of the Year contender in 2025-26, was apprehended early Saturday early morning on a DUI charge in Lee County, Alabama, according to jail logs.Pettiford was launched midday, a source told ESPN, and is no longer listed as an inmate on the jail’s log.” We know the situation,

and we will handle it internally with Tahaad and his family,”Auburn coach Bruce Pearl stated in a statement to ESPN on Saturday.”We take these matters seriously and will discover and grow from it moving on.”The 19-year-old’s arrest on a charge of driving under the impact of alcohol comes simply weeks after he withdrew from the NBA draft. Pettiford, who averaged 11.6 PPG in his freshman season for an Auburn team that secured the No. 1 total seed in the NCAA competition and reached the Final 4, is the cornerstone of Auburn’s next chapter after the departure of star Johni Broome.Following his withdrawal from the draft, Pettiford said he returned to Auburn in part to show that he can contend

at the next level.”I mored than happy to go through the procedure, getting feedback from NBA groups, “Pettiford informed ESPN then. “Returning to Auburn is a much better situation for me. I see myself being a greater pick next year. It wasn’t 100%this year, so I didn’t want to take that chance.”Although he didn’t receive the same buzz as a few of the leading freshmen in the nation throughout the 2024-25 season, Pettiford was extensively considered as one of the very best young players in the

country.He’s on a list of players who will get in the 2025-26 season as a possible preseason All-American. He averaged 15.2 PPG in 5 NCAA competition games.Before his team’s run to the Final 4, Pearl applauded Pettiford’s humility and rejection to get upset when he needed to accept less playing time on a squad filled with top veterans.” I expect some would simply arrange of

anticipate that to be an issue,”Pearl stated about Pettiford’s scenario in April.” Not a word. Not a body language, shoulder shrug, roll eye ever from Tahaad.

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