After a rocky freshman season as Auburn’s primary starter at point guard, Aden Holloway is expected to enter the transfer portal, 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins first reported Tuesday morning.

He joins K.D. Johnson and Tre Donaldson as the third Auburn guard to enter the transfer portal. Auburn is anticipating the summer arrival of Tahaad Pettiford — another five-star guard, rated as the top-rated point guard in the 2024 class.

Holloway, a former five-star high school recruit, was brought to Auburn in large part because of his shooting ability.

He showed that quickly in a preseason inter-squad scrimmage and throughout the early stretch of Auburn’s season which earned him the starting point guard position. In Auburn’s 13 non-conference games to open the season, Holloway shot 36.6% on 3s and scored 10.5 points per game.

It was a 3-point shot that quickly earned him much more attention from opposing defenses and was regarded early in the season as one of the best freshmen in the country. Holloway’s mother Robin Raimey told AL.com that Holloway taught himself how to shoot from YouTube videos in their Charlotte, North Carolina, dining room turned basketball court.

But when SEC play, Holloway fell into a slump. His 3-point percentage dropped off significantly. From the beginning of SEC play until the end of the season, Holloway shot 29.6% from the field and 24.4% on 3s. He scored 5.5 points per game. He did not make a 3-pointer at all in nine of the final 22 games of the season.

Through the struggles, Holloway appeared visibly frustrated on the court. During an open locker room media availability during the SEC Tournament, Holloway told AL.com he’d never had a stretch like this in his life.

“Like I said, just keep praying and faith in God and stay in the gym,” Holloway said in the locker room after Auburn beat South Carolina on March 15. “You can’t ever give up. That’s what it is.”

Holloway was often the first and the last player in the gym at Auburn practices taking more 3-point shots, trying to break the slump. He kept shooting through Auburn’s games trying to break out of it.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and Holloway’s teammates continued to stress confidence in the freshman. He said that he believed every shot Holloway took was going in.

But the shots didn’t fall.

Holloway did improve in other areas of his game, especially his passing and defense. Holloway led a high-performing Auburn team in assist-to-turnover ratio this season.

In his final game with Auburn, Holloway shot 0-5 from the field against Yale.

During his high school recruitment, Holloway also strongly considered Tennessee, Miami and a closer-to-home option in Wake Forest.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]