CONTRIBUTED BY AU ATHLETICS
AUBURN —
One of the Top 10 transfers in the country, Johni Broome (pronounced JOE-nye, like dye), has officially signed his National Letter of Intent to join the Auburn men’s basketball program for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
The 6-foot-10-inch, 235-pound forward is a transfer from Morehead State, where he played and started in all 34 games of the season as a freshman. Broome led the Eagles in scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounding (10.5 rpg) and blocks (3.9 bpg). His 131 blocked shots were a MSU single-season record and the third most among NCAA Division I leaders in the category behind Auburn’s Walker Kessler (155) and Western Kentucky’s Jamarion Sharp (148).
He also shot a team-best 55.5% from the field and finished in the top five nationally with 23 double-doubles — the second-most in school history. Broome recorded a career-high 32 points in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game and brought down a career-best 18 rebounds versus Belmont on Jan. 20.
“Johni fits the profile,” said Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl. “He is a great kid and comes from a great family. Extremely hard worker. He has a strong back-to-the-basket game that we will take full advantage of. What’s also exciting is that he has the ability to face up and guard all five positions on the floor. He moves well for his size. Assistant Coach Steven Pearl did an outstanding job building trust and a relationship with Johni. It played a key factor in Johni’s decision.”
Broome received numerous postseason accolades including Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, All-OVC First Team and OVC All-Tournament Team honors. He was only the second player in program history to earn conference DPOTY honors. The Lou Henson All-American Team selection was also named a finalist for the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Lou Henson Mid-Major National Player of the Year Award.
A native of Plant City, Florida, Broome played his first two seasons of high school basketball at Plant City High School before transferring to Tampa Catholic High School. There, the first-team all-state player led the Crusaders to the 5A state semifinals twice and was tabbed 2019-20 Hillsborough County (Fla.) Player of the Year.
He comes to Auburn with three years of eligibility remaining.