Steven Pearl Named Auburn Head Coach as Bruce Becomes TNT Analyst

Bruce Pearl retired from Auburn after 11 seasons last month, and the program has turned to his longtime assistant and son, Steven Pearl, to lead the team into the 2025 season while Bruce moves into a new role as a studio analyst for TNT Sports. Steven officially begins his tenure as head coach as Auburn opens its exhibition slate, and Bruce, 65, will be part of TNT Sports expanded regular-season college basketball coverage and the networks joint coverage of the NCAA tournament.

Steven Pearl has been on his father’s sideline through most of Bruce’s Auburn tenure, rising from assistant strength and conditioning coach to director of basketball operations from 2015 to 2017, assistant coach from 2017, and associate head coach in 2023. He inherits a roster that has undergone heavy turnover, with 10 newcomers joining one returning player, guard Tahaad Pettiford, from last year’s Final Four team. Auburn’s incoming class includes backcourt freshmen Kaden Magwood and Simon Walker; wings Keyshawn Hall, Kevin Overton, Elyjah Freeman and Abdul Bashir; and frontcourt additions KeShawn Murphy, Emeka Opurum, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Serbian center Filip Jovic.