How Auburn Basketball’s Rocky Preseason Sparked a Surprising Turn for Steven Pearl

BIRMINGHAM — Man, this Auburn basketball team was already staring down the barrel of a rugged season. After conquering the SEC championship and making a deep run to the Final Four last year, they faced the brutal task of replacing ten players. But as if that wasn’t enough, the bombshell dropped late September — Bruce Pearl, a fixture of the program, decided to hang up his coaching whistle. Talk about a curveball. The announcement blindsided just about everyone, including the team itself, leaving a swirl of uncertainty. But from those early stumbles, a new chapter is unfolding. Bruce’s son, Steven Pearl, the man chosen to fill some mighty big shoes, hasn’t even called his first game yet but already secured a crucial victory when his entire roster vowed to stick around despite the temptation to jump ship through the transfer portal. It’s a testament to team spirit, resilience, and loyalty — qualities Steven highlighted as the real test this preseason. With turbulence giving way to togetherness, Auburn’s story this season is about more than just basketball — it’s about bonds forged in adversity and hope riding high on fresh shoulders. LEARN MORE

BIRMINGHAM — This season was already tough enough for Auburn basketball, having to defend an SEC championship while replacing 10 players after a run to the Final Four last season. But it got tougher last month, when longtime head coach Bruce Pearl announced his retirement Sept. 22.

It made for a bumpy day, with the program itself getting scooped on the news. It wasn’t able to inform its players first, but the road’s smoothed since.

Steven Pearl, the son of Bruce Pearl and an assistant on Auburn‘s staff since 2017, was immediately picked to succeed his father. He’s yet to coach a game this season, but he got his first win earlier this month, as his entire roster pledged to remain with the program and not explore the transfer portal, as his father’s retirement opened a 30-day window for the program.

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the SEC Tipoff, Steven Pearl said that was a testament to his players, and “theirteammates and the relationship that they’ve really garnered together this summer.” He went on to explain why the coaching change was his team’s first big test this season — and why he’s been encouraged by the response.

“One of the unique things about what happened in September, we had to go through some adversity way sooner than 99% of college basketball teams had to this year,” he said. “A lot of teams won’t experience any adversity untilNovember or December based on their schedule.”

For the first time since the coaching change, some of Auburn’s most notable players shared their perspectives on it Wednesday. UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall said he was “shocked” by the news, noting Bruce Pearl was among the biggest reasons he picked Auburn. Tahaad Pettiford said he learned, “like everybody else did,” while sitting in class.

Both are widely projected as Auburn’s two best players, and Steven Pearl announced Oct. 1 the pair informed their teammates they “wanted to stick it out with this group this year.” Both reaffirmed as much Wednesday. Pettiford said he never considered transferring, and he and Hall both pointed to Auburn’s staff continuity as a major factor in not going elsewhere.

Prior to Bruce Pearl’s exit, Steven Pearl said the summer brought plenty of progress chemistry-wise. He said he’s watched friendships grow, and seen a roster that hates to lose. It’s been “really positive,” he said. And now, they’ve bonded further, with the experience of navigating some preseason upheaval.

“That’s going to help this group play tight-knit and together, which is a blessing in disguise with BP stepping down,” Steven Pearl said. “To see them stay together through a difficult situation gives me a lot of hope and encouragement for the future.”

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at[email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@colereporter. To support Adam’s work, pleasesubscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.