Dylan Cardwell has seen almost everything there is to see in college basketball.

Success, failure, a pandemic and multiple conference championships, but never a Final Four. When Auburn beat Michigan State Sunday in the Elite Eight, that finally changed for the fifth-year senior and the Tigers’ all-time winningest player.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Cardwell said as he held the south region championship trophy in Auburn’s locker room after the game.

It’s the second time in school history Auburn has reached the Final Four, the first coming in 2019. That season was two years before Cardwell arrived on campus, but it’s hard to be a part of the Auburn men’s basketball team without hearing about that group.

“I just got tired of hearing about the 2019 team. That’s all you here about,” Cardwell said. “I’ve been here five years and the password to the Arena is 2019 and the password to the Bluetooth and the wifi is 2019. They’ve got a 2019 banner outside of the Arena. I mean, we can’t get 2019 out of our heads. So, for me, it was like I want to make my own history.”

Cardwell is one of just two players on the current team to be in his fifth season with the program. The other is backup forward Chris Moore, who has been through similar ups and downs throughout his career.

Moore is averaging just 1.1 points per game this season, playing a role that few players might accept in their fifth year at one stop. But for the West Memphis, Arkansas, native, though, the Final Four run makes all the sacrifices worth it.

“It makes it real special,” Moore said. “This is a winning program, I’ve been winning since I’ve been here. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be at, honestly. Auburn is a special place, and like I said, it’s all about winning.”

Cardwell and Moore represent the experienced side of an Auburn team that was put together through a number of avenues.

The group has it all. A five-star freshman, mid-major transfers, high-major transfers, former junior college players and a former Division II player. But for Bruce Pearl, his formula seemed to work in 2025.

Chaney Johnson, a former in-state recruit and star at Alabama-Huntsville, could’ve never predicted that he’d be playing in a Final Four when he was a young player at the Division II level.

Now, he’s doing so after scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds in the Elite Eight.

“I’ve kind of always been an underdog,” Johnson said. “So, I mean, I’m just grateful, and I’m just going to continue to praise my Lord, because he blessed me so much.”

For Miles Kelly, Sunday was a chance for him to clinch a Final Four berth in his hometown of Atlanta, a year after transferring away from his hometown school, Georgia Tech.

“To be able to have the chance of making it to the Final Four, and making it to the national championship, in my home city, with my family and stuff watching, it means a lot to me,” Kelly said. “I didn’t have the best game last game or the best game this game, but I think at the end of the day, we’re still going to the Final Four and hopefully make it to the national championship.”

With a Final Four berth achieved, the only left for this Auburn team to check off the list is the one feat the program has never accomplished: A national championship.

It won’t be easy, with games against Florida and either Duke or Houston standing in the Tigers’ way. But for now, Auburn can celebrate as the program and its players continue to reach new heights.

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