What Auburn basketball is getting in Santa Clara big Bukky Oboye
The Tigers landed the experienced center they needed — and one that led all of Division I in 2PT% while also being a top-45 shot-blocker.
AUBURN — Before locking down anything else this offseason, Auburn basketball has made sure to address its literally big problem from this most recent campaign.
After landing French 7-footer Narcisse Ngoy during their run to the NIT title, the Tigers doubled down in the frontcourt and added an even taller center — and one with considerable Division I experience — in Santa Clara transfer Bukky Oboye.
(Quick pronunciation guide: “BOO-key O-BOY-yay.” Think ghosts, not beavers.)
Auburn signed Oboye on Friday morning, marking the first transfer portal pickup of this cycle. After losing KeShawn Murphy from an already undersized roster, Auburn has now added two centers to kickstart its roster reset in the first full offseason under head coach Steven Pearl.
“He’s one of the most physically gifted prospects you’ll find — an elite runner and leaper with rare size who impacts the game at the rim on both ends of the floor at such a high level,” Pearl said, per a release from the program. “What stands out even more than his tools is his growth. He’s shown improvements every single day, and the more he plays the better he becomes.
“If Bukky stays on the path he’s been on, he has a chance to be a very special player on the Plains.”
Back in 2020, Oluwabukola Oboye was a 6-foot-4 point guard at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas — a suburb of Houston. Then came a dramatic growth spurt, transforming him into a legitimate 7-foot-1 center.
Oboye signed with Santa Clara — a strong program out of the West Coast Conference best known for producing Steve Nash — and played in two games as a true freshman before redshirting. After jumping up to 25 games a season later, he started in all 34 of his appearances as a redshirt sophomore.
Santa Clara finished third in a stacked WCC, grabbed a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament and should have knocked off Kentucky in the first round. (Longtime head coach Herb Sendek tried to call timeout after a go-ahead shot, but the referees didn’t grant it. Otega Oweh sent the game into OT with a banked 40-footer and ended the Broncos season in the extra period.)
Oboye jumped into the transfer portal after his breakout season, where he established himself as a fearsome rim protector and the most efficient inside scoring threat in the entire country.
With Auburn returning a veteran, high-scoring backcourt tandem of Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton, Oboye looks like the kind of center who can pair well with the duo and help fix the Tigers’ largest weakness from a season ago — a massive drop-off in interior defense, which radiated throughout the entire unit.
Here is our full scouting report on Oboye, an experienced Division I center who has incredible athleticism for someone of his immense height and brings some elite two-way impact to the table for the Tigers.
Let’s take a look at his stats, strengths, areas for improvement and — of course — his film from a strong sophomore season at Santa Clara.
VITALS
Position: Center
Height: 7-foot-1
With Ngoy and the potential return of Emeka Opurum, Auburn will have multiple 7-footers on the roster for the first time in the Pearl Era. The Tigers only had two total under Pearl: Walker Kessler and Trayvon Reed.
Weight: 220
He arrived at Santa Clara at 200 pounds and is still much thinner than most post players at this level.
Age: 19
Oboye was born in August 2006, meaning he will be 20 during the season.
Class: Incoming Redshirt Junior
He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Previous: Three seasons at Santa Clara
Oboye redshirted after playing in just two games in his true freshman season.
2025-26 SEASON STATISTICS
34 games — 34 starts
17.7 minutes per game
7.9 points per game
4.1 rebounds per game
0.6 assists per game
1.2 blocks per game
0.7 steals per game
66.7% FG
Oboye went 102-132 (77.3%) on 2-point attempts, which led all of Division I.
24.2% 3PT
He hit eight of 33 attempts from beyond the arc last season.
65.6% FT
Oboye led the WCC with 118 total fouls committed — 3.5 per game — and ranked fifth in Division I in that category.
STANDOUT GAMES
11/15 vs. Nevada: 22 points | 7 blocks (career-highs) in 19 minutes
8-10 FG | 2-2 3P
12/3 vs. Utah Tech: 14 points | 8 rebounds | 3 assists in 25 minutes
6-6 FG
1/2 vs. Pepperdine: 13 points | 7 rebounds | 3 steals | 3 blocks in 25 minutes
6-8 FG
1/24 at San Diego: 16 points | 8 rebounds in 25 minutes
6-6 FG
ARCHETYPE
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Auburn Observer to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.