Owen Freeman, a four-star transfer center who has been hampered by injuries over the past two seasons, took a visit to Syracuse basketball last week, as I noted in a column.
The junior power forward/center from Big East Conference member Creighton is now off the board, though, as multiple articles on Monday reported that Freeman has committed to Southeastern Conference school Auburn.
Auburn has landed Creighton transfer Owen Freeman, source told @TheFieldOf68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 20, 2026
The 6-10 junior struggled with injuries last season after transferring from Iowa.
That's a bummer. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Freeman, who hails from Moline, Ill., spent two campaigns at Iowa out of the Big Ten Conference before heading to Creighton. The Orange reportedly hosted him on a visit last Tuesday.
As far as I can tell, Freeman has been one of the SU staff's top front-court targets via the transfer portal this offseason. The portal opened on April 7 and will run through April 21, although players don't have to pledge to a new school by the close of the transfer portal; they just have to enter it by April 21.
Syracuse basketball didn't prevail for 4-star transfer center Owen Freeman.
As Creighton went 16-18 overall during the 2025-26 stanza, Freeman averaged 11.9 minutes, 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest while making 60.2 percent from the field and 64.3 percent from the free-throw line. He had suffered a knee injury that required surgery before 2025-26 commenced, and Freeman only appeared in 26 games.
In 2024-25, while at Iowa, Freeman averaged 26.4 minutes, 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per encounter while connecting on 63.8 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe. Yet he only played in 19 contests before having surgery on his finger.
Still, in national transfer rankings this offseason, Freeman checks in as four stars, per 247Sports and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking. Both recruiting services have him inside the top 170 nationally; 247Sports places Freeman as the No. 23 center, while the On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 47 power forward.
The Orange's 2026-27 roster to date includes:
•Ryan Moesch, a 2026 four-star point guard from Central New York
•Mark Morano Mahmutovic, a 2026 four-star wing from Slovenia
•Center Abdramane Siby, a 2026 prospect from Mali
•Freshman guard Kiyan Anthony
•Freshman forward Sadiq White Jr.
•Freshman wing Calvin Russell III
•Sophomore guard Noah Lobdell
•Sophomore guard Aiden Tobiason, a four-star transfer from Temple
•Junior guard Garwey Dual, a four-star transfer from McNeese State
•Sophomore guard Gavin Doty, a four-star transfer from Siena
•Junior power forward/center Tasman Goodrick, a transfer from Siena
Syracuse basketball head coach Gerry McNamara and his staff need several more power forwards and centers to fill out their front-court for the upcoming campaign.
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