In November 2025, Alex Golesh joined the Auburn Tigers program as their head coach on a six-year deal. When Golesh arrived in Auburn, he had big challenges ahead, starting with building a capable roster.
Building a roster isn’t just about having an eye for the right talent. Although that is the most important aspect, accommodating all the players in a given budget is where things get tricky for most coaches.
Golesh knew the budget he had for a complete roster, and he went to work during the transfer portal. He recruited the best players he needed for his program to compete in the next season and possibly make a run at the title.
Before joining the Tigers, Golesh coached the South Florida Bulls. He was working with a smaller budget there. So, coming to Auburn, where he had an increased NIL budget, required some adjustments.
Golesh stated that the key for him was understanding the difference and maximizing the value while building his roster. As per AuburnSports, the initial target to build the roster for next year was set at $25 million.
At the time, $30 million was seen as the ceiling, the maximum limit they could reach, but it would’ve been better to stay under. It didn’t take long before a new ceiling had to be set as the $30 million limit was bound to be crossed.
“The hardest thing, I think, for me was to figure out what does that roster number look like in terms of how many,” Golesh SAID.
As per Golesh, “You’re dealing with a different caliber of athlete, 1 through 105.” The program added 40 new players through the portal.
Alex Golesh Explained the Math Behind Roster Building
As per AuburnSports, the final roster number in Auburn is set to be in the 90s. Auburn has 105 scholarships and 105 roster spots, but Golesh was struggling to finalize whether he should max out the total number or shrink the roster for more quality players.
“You’re sitting there, you’ve got 105 scholarships and you’ve got 105 roster spots, but, man, do you squish that down into 70, 60?” he said. “In an NFL model, is it 53? Or do you spread it out knowing that, one, it’s a long season, and two, the caliber of player you’re getting based on how much you’ve got to spread out?”
The hardest part for Golesh was figuring out the right balance between signing players while retaining those who were already big parts of the program.
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