Auburn is a finalist for an experienced SEC guard from one of its biggest rivals as Bruce Pearl looks to restructure the Tigers’ roster this offseason.

Kario Oquendo, who was Georgia’s second-leading scorer this season, announced Thursday that he is prioritizing four schools as he makes his transfer decision this offseason: Auburn, Oregon, Utah and Nebraska.

“I am extremely grateful for all the schools that reached out showing interest in recruiting me but going forward I will be prioritizing these four schools,” Oquendo posted on Twitter.

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Who does Auburn turn to at point guard next season after Wendell Green Jr. opts to go pro?

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 12.7 points and 2.6 rebounds for Georgia this season, finishing the year as the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer behind fellow guard Terry Roberts. Oquendo spent the last two seasons at Georgia after starting his career at Florida SouthWestern State College, a junior college in Cypress Lake, Fla.

In his two years with the Bulldogs, Oquendo averaged 14 points, 3.5 rebounds and nearly one steal per game. He started 59 of the 60 games he appeared in for Georgia and was the team’s leading scorer (15.2 points per game) during the 2021-22 season. While Oquendo is not the best outside shooter (just 27 percent from 3-point range at Georgia), he is a bigger attacking guard who shot 42.6 overall the last two seasons, including 53.6 percent from inside the arc.

Oquendo’s offensive numbers per 40 minutes are also noteworthy, averaging 20.4 points, five rebounds, one assist and 1.2 steals. He would not be the first transfer Pearl has plucked from Georgia, having added K.D. Johnson from the Bulldogs two seasons ago.

Oquendo is one of a handful of guard Auburn has been targeting in the transfer portal since the season ended, as the program must replace starting point guard Wendell Green Jr., starting two-guard Zep Jasper and versatile freshman Chance Westry. Green earlier this week declared for the NBA Draft, while Jasper has exhausted his college eligibility and Westry entered the transfer portal last week (along with freshman combo forward Yohan Traore). Some of the other guards Auburn has targeted in the portal, along with Oquendo, are Rice transfer Quincy Olivari, FIU transfer Denver Jones, Temple transfer Damian Dunn, Tulane’s Jalen Cook, Ole Miss’ Amaree Abram, Syracuse’s Joe Girard and Northern Arizona’s Jalen Cone, among others.

Pearl visited Olivari in Houston prior to the Final Four, according to Fox 26 in Houston, while Jones is set to take a visit to Auburn this weekend, according to On3.

Auburn currently has four scholarship spots to fill heading into the 2023-24 season — and that’s with counting seniors Allen Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Stretch Akingbola, each of whom have an extra year of eligibility but have yet to announce their plans one way or another. Including those three, Auburn is slated to return eight players from a team that went 21-13 this season and will add 2023 point guard signee Aden Holloway, a McDonald’s All-American.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.