The transfer portal waits for no one in 2025.

It officially opened for college basketball following the second round of the NCAA tournament, meaning a number of teams were forced to navigate it while still competing in the postseason.

Auburn is one of those teams, and despite Bruce Pearl saying prior to the Sweet 16 that the Tigers aren’t focusing much on the portal, the staff has already landed a big name.

UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall signed with Auburn Wednesday, coming to the Plains after averaging 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season.

Following Hall’s commitment, Auburn associate head coach Steven Pearl gave a little more insight on how the staff is attacking the portal while still getting the team prepared to play on college basketball’s biggest stage.

“It’s just trying to find time between film, practice and stuff like that to do zooms with these guys,” Pearl said. “Coach is trying to fit as much time as he can in the game planning, and we’re trying to pull him away for a little bit of time each day to try and get in front of these guys.”

Pearl said Auburn is doing “three to four” zooms per day with potential portal targets, all while being deep into game prep. It’s something that’s important for Auburn, with the majority of its rotation unable to return next season.

One thing that Pearl said has helped Auburn in recruiting the portal is players recognizing the effort from the staff to spend time with them while still preparing for the Final Four.

“I think it’s helped put us in a decent position with a few guys,” Pearl said.

It seemed to work for Hall, who’s ranked by On3 as the No. 18 overall player in the transfer portal. At 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, he can guard numerous positions on the court and score at multiple levels.

“He’s a guy that’s incredibly versatile and can do a lot of things for us on both ends of the floor. You can see what his game has evolved into,” Pearl said. “He’s such a talented scorer and can put the ball and do things with it that most guys his size are not capable of doing.”

Hall is Auburn’s only transfer portal signee so far, joining incoming freshmen Kaden Magwood, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Simon Walker and JUCO transfer Abdul Bashir.

The Tigers will look to keep their NCAA tournament run going Saturday night, facing Florida in the national semifinal. The game is set to tip off at 5:09 p.m. and will be televised on CBS.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m