AUBURN — Auburn basketball's quest to find another player in the front court is done.

After beginning his career with two years at Georgia State, followed by another at SMU last season, transfer forward Ja'Heim Hudson has committed to the Tigers, he announced via social media. Hudson averaged 5.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists with the Mustangs during the 2023-24 campaign. He appeared in 31 games, starting one, and shot 43.4% from the field while knocking down 32.1% of his 3-pointers in 15.2 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Hudson averaged 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds as a sophomore at Georgia State. In an eight-point loss at Auburn in December 2022, Hudson dropped eight points and 11 rebounds. He played 36 minutes against the Tigers and shot 3-for-12.

"Talking to the last three coaches Ja’Heim has played for – in high school, at Georgia State and at SMU – I respect all three of those coaches and all three said he was one of their favorites,” coach Bruce Pearl said in a statement. “He is a great person, great worker and great teammate. Stepping up another level, he brings great depth to our front line and has two years of eligibility remaining. He will definitely make an impact on our program and bring another level of toughness to our team."

Hudson was unranked by three of the four major recruiting services (On3Sports, Rivals and ESPN), but 247Sports had him tabbed as a three-star recruit and the No. 75 power forward in the Class of 2021.

Expect Hudson to compete with Chaney Johnson for minutes at PF.

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Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Ja'Heim Hudson: Auburn basketball brings in transfer forward from SMU