Bruce Pearl’s son, Steven Pearl, gave his father a reason to be proud after Auburn defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 92–86 in overtime in the 2026 NIT Championship game.
Bruce, who left the job after the 2024-25 season, was succeeded by Steven this season. After eight seasons as an assistant, Steven hit it out of the park in his first season as head coach, leading Auburn to a 22-16 record, the best record registered by a first-year head coach in school history.
After Steven helped Auburn win its first-ever NIT title, Bruce took it to X and reacted proudly:
“Boom🔥”
The Tigers had a dramatic game. They blew a 21-point lead, fell behind late, and needed a clutch 3-pointer from Kevin Overton to force OT. It was a good turnaround by Auburn after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Auburn also became the first SEC team since 2006 to win the NIT.
Bruce Pearl’s Son Steven Reflects On First Auburn HC Season
Bruce Pearl took Auburn to the Final Four last season. Compared to that, one might feel Auburn underwhelmed this season by not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. However, Steven had to change the core of the team and faced highs and lows during the season.
After the title, Steven reflected on his first year as head coach of Auburn.
“I don’t think you guys have enough time to go through the number of lessons I’ve learned in my first year,” Pearl said. “I think it’s something that I’ll probably look back and reflect on once the season is over. There’s so many things that kind of come to mind.”
Steven reflected upon the difficult circumstances regarding the players he had for the season and also the difficult schedule.
For me, those, I’m thankful for the (players),” Steven added. “You know, they were put in an incredibly difficult situation this year, coming in with only one returner, 10 new guys, nine underclassmen. And then having to deal with me as a first-year head coach, playing one of the toughest strength of schedules in all of college basketball in the deepest league in the country, and going through some tremendous highs and some very difficult lows.
“And then obviously to not be in the tournament and put in a position where we’ve got to play the NIT Championship, and to their credit, these young men have taken full advantage of that opportunity. I’m proud of them.”
It appears Steven Pearl is content with how the team has fared in his first season at the helm. He’ll hope to go only upwards and onwards from here.
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