{"id":247077,"date":"2025-09-22T19:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/247077\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T19:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:54:11","slug":"steven-pearl-named-auburn-mens-basketball-head-coach-auburn-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/247077\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Pearl named Auburn men\u2019s basketball head coach – Auburn Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past season, Pearl helped Auburn to a historic season that saw the Tigers win the SEC Championship, earn the program\u2019s first No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed and make the program\u2019s second Final Four in the last six NCAA Tournaments. Auburn won a school-record 32 games with the most difficult schedule in the country, notching 16 wins over Quad 1 opponents, while being ranked No. 1 for a school-record eight consecutive weeks.
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Since taking over defensive leadership of the team four seasons ago, Pearl has led Auburn to a Top 10 national ranking in overall defense three times, becoming one of only four teams in Division I to accomplish the feat.\u00a0
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Auburn\u2019s field goal percentage defense over the last four seasons is best four-year span in school history and its 3-point field goal percentage defense over the last three seasons is the best three-year span in Auburn history. The Tigers have also ranked in the top 13 in the country in effective field goal percentage defense each of the last four seasons.
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His Auburn defense over the last four seasons in the Southeastern Conference ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (.299), third in field goal percentage (.396) and fourth in scoring defense (68.1 ppg).\u00a0
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Beyond leading defensive strategies and in-game play calling for the last four seasons, Pearl has led opponent scouting and has played a huge role in the development of Auburn\u2019s big men during his 11-year tenure on The Plains.\u00a0
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\u201cWhen I came to Auburn three years ago, Coach Bruce Pearl<\/a> made it clear to me that he was nearing the end of his coaching days. It was obvious to me \u2013 even then \u2013 that we needed to create an internal national search to prepare for the time when Coach Pearl would be stepping down,\u201d Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen said.\u00a0
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\u201cThroughout our detailed process, it became obvious to me and our staff that Steven Pearl<\/a> was clearly the best fit for Auburn. His expertise in coaching defense, his skills as an evaluator, recruiter, teacher and motivator, and his relationships with our student-athletes and staff were paramount.
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\u201cAs the associate head coach on what I consider to be one of the elite coaching staffs in college basketball, Steven has played a prominent role in Auburn\u2019s unprecedented success.
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\u201cThe uncommon stability of Auburn\u2019s coaching staff is a huge reason why our men\u2019s basketball program has won five SEC championships and made two trips to the Final Four in the past eight seasons. Keeping that staff intact was a high priority, and very much a part of our decision-making process. We are thrilled to congratulate Steven and Brittany and are excited to watch Steven lead the program into this next chapter.\u201d
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His fervent recruiting strategy has helped lead to seven Top 25 high school recruiting classes and the key signings of elite transfer portal talent to help the program reload.
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Named one of the 50 most impactful high-major assistant coaches in NCAA Division I basketball by Silver Waves Media the last two years, Pearl has been instrumental in one of the biggest rebuilds in college basketball.
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Since 2017, every player who has transferred to Auburn has won an SEC Championship and six have earned All-SEC honors, including two All-Americans.\u00a0
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Over the last four years, Pearl has taken the lead in transfer portal recruiting, landing some of the top transfers in the country in Kessler, Wendell Green Jr.<\/a>, Broome, Denver Jones<\/a> and Miles Kelly<\/a>. Kessler earned All-America, National Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC First Team honors in 2022.
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Broome developed into one of the best players in Auburn history, as he was named the SEC Player of the Year, National Player of the Year and a unanimous first team All-America selection last season. Green Jr. was a second team All-SEC selection while Jones was named to the SEC\u2019s All-Defensive team.
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Auburn has become a hotbed for producing and developing this next-level talent, particularly from the Atlanta area, including the recruitment of current pros Okoro (No. 5 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020), Kessler (No. 22 overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022) and Sharife Cooper<\/a> (No. 48 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 2021).
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\u201cThere is nobody more qualified or in a position to maintain our culture of faith, family and doing it the Auburn way than Steven. He\u2019s actually tougher than I am, and just as competitive! Out of loyalty to Auburn and me, Steven passed on several previous chances to pursue head coaching opportunities, choosing instead to invest in our men\u2019s basketball program and help it reach unprecedented heights,\u201d Bruce Pearl<\/a> said. \u201cHe has worked tirelessly and been instrumental in the success of our program over the last 11 years. We would not have been in the position to make two Final Fours, win five SEC Championships and win as many games as we have if it wasn\u2019t for Steven and this staff. I am so pleased that the DNA of this program won\u2019t be changing and could not be prouder for Steven, Brittany and Lainey.\u201d
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As the program\u2019s academic liaison, 48 student-athletes have graduated over the last 11 years, and Auburn has posted a perfect 1000 APR in six out of the last seven years. The team\u2019s cumulative grade point average has been 3.0 or better in eight of the last 10 years and twice the program has received the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award (2021-22 and 2024-25).
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Pearl served as acting head coach against North Alabama resulting in his first career coaching victory, 70-44, on Dec. 14, 2021, at Neville Arena.
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\u201cSteven Pearl<\/a>\u2019s uncompromising commitment to building championship basketball teams, his ability to recruit talented student-athletes and develop them into true Auburn men who earn their degrees, make him well suited to become Auburn\u2019s next head coach,\u201d Auburn President Dr. Chris Roberts said. \u201cWe look forward to now watching Steven lead this elite program into the future and continue guiding Auburn men\u2019s basketball to the extraordinary successes he has helped our teams achieve over the past decade.\u201d
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In April of 2022, he also participated in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Athletic Director U\u2019s invitation-only Collegiate Coaching Consortium at the 2022 NCAA Men\u2019s Final Four in New Orleans. The consortium brought together rising basketball coaches and Division I athletic directors for a rigorous, multi-day academy, helping those rising coaches prepare for their first head coaching opportunity.
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Pearl spent the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as the director of basketball operations after his first year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. As the director of operations, he was in charge of team travel while also helping plan team practices, working with the team\u2019s academics and all of the Auburn Basketball Camps.\u00a0
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Pearl was a four-year letterwinner for his father, Bruce Pearl<\/a>, at Tennessee, playing in 101 games from 2007-11. He helped Tennessee to back-to-back SEC East Championships in 2008 and 2009, with the \u201808 team winning the league by two games over Kentucky and Mississippi State. He also appeared in the NCAA Tournament each year he was a part of the program with the Volunteers advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and 2008 and the Elite 8 in 2010.\u00a0
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Pearl, who was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in marketing and international business in December 2010. He has also taken classes towards a graduate degree.
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He and his wife, Brittany, have a daughter, Lainey, born in December 2024.
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STEVEN PEARL<\/a> STATEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to President Dr. Roberts, Athletics Director John Cohen, and the entire Auburn leadership team for entrusting me with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I\u2019ve spent my lifetime preparing for this moment, learning from one of the best in BP, and building a foundation rooted in character, hard work, and team-first values. We\u2019re not starting over \u2014 we\u2019re building forward, with the same principles that have made Auburn Basketball elite. I\u2019m honored to lead this program, and I\u2019m ready to rise to the moment.\u201d
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BRUCE PEARL<\/a> STATEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nobody more qualified or in a position to maintain our culture of faith, family and doing it the Auburn way than Steven. He\u2019s actually tougher than I am, and just as competitive! Out of loyalty to Auburn and me, Steven passed on several previous chances to pursue head coaching opportunities, choosing instead to invest in our men\u2019s basketball program and help it reach unprecedented heights. He has worked tirelessly and been instrumental in the success of our program over the last 11 years. We would not have been in the position to make two Final Fours, win five SEC Championships and win as many games as we have if it wasn\u2019t for Steven and this staff. I am so pleased that the DNA of this program won\u2019t be changing and could not be prouder for Steven, Brittany and Lainey.\u201d
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AUBURN ATHLETICS DIRECTOR JOHN COHEN STATEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to Auburn three years ago, Coach Bruce Pearl<\/a> made it clear to me that he was nearing the end of his coaching days. It was obvious to me \u2013 even then \u2013 that we needed to create an internal national search to prepare for the time when Coach Pearl would be stepping down.
\u00a0
\u201cThroughout our detailed process, it became obvious to me and our staff that Steven Pearl<\/a> was clearly the best fit for Auburn. His expertise in coaching defense and all phases of the game, his skills as an evaluator, recruiter, teacher and motivator, and his relationships with our student-athletes and staff were paramount.
\u00a0
\u201cAs the associate head coach on what I consider to be one of the elite coaching staffs in college basketball, Steven has played a prominent role in Auburn\u2019s unprecedented success.
\u00a0
\u201cThe uncommon stability of Auburn\u2019s coaching staff is a huge reason why our men\u2019s basketball program has won five SEC championships and made two trips to the Final Four in the past eight seasons. Keeping that staff intact was a high priority, and very much a part of our decision-making process. We are thrilled to congratulate Steven and Brittany and are excited to watch Steven lead the program into this next chapter.\u201d
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PRESIDENT DR. CHRIS ROBERTS STATEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSteven Pearl<\/a>\u2019s uncompromising commitment to building championship basketball teams, his ability to recruit talented student-athletes and develop them into true Auburn men who earn their degrees, make him well suited to become Auburn\u2019s next head coach. We look forward to now watching Steven lead this elite program into the future and continue guiding Auburn men\u2019s basketball to the extraordinary successes he has helped our teams achieve over the past decade.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This past season, Pearl helped Auburn to a historic season that saw the Tigers win the SEC Championship,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":247078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-247077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115249706714486592","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}