Bruce Pearl retires: Auburn coach abruptly steps down after 11-year tenure, biggest run in program historical past

Faculty basketball has been hit with an enormous teaching retirement resolution for a second straight preseason. Auburn’s Bruce Pearl is leaving the occupation, sources advised CBS Sports activities on Monday. The information comes lower than a 12 months after Virginia’s Tony Bennett shockingly stepped away in October 2024.

After an offseason of contemplating whether or not or to not retire, Pearl got here to phrases along with his resolution and made it closing on Monday morning, sources mentioned. He is been linked to a possible Senate run in Alabama in current months as nicely, however sources had been downplaying the chance that Pearl would go into politics this 12 months.

Auburn launched a video of Pearl asserting his resolution to step down.

The 65-year-old Pearl has been a head coach courting again to 1992, when he first received an opportunity working a program at Division II Southern Indiana the place, in 1995, he gained a Division II nationwide championship. Pearl then coached at Milwaukee from 2001-05, at Tennessee from 2005-11 and, since 2014, has guided Auburn underneath its biggest run in class historical past. Pearl leaves on a excessive observe, having taken the Tigers to the Ultimate 4 with a No. 1 seed final season. He additionally took Auburn to its first Ultimate 4 in 2019. 

Arrived at Auburn after controversy

Pearl’s path to Auburn was clouded in controversy. He acquired a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA in 2011 as his unprecedented run of success at Tennessee got here to an finish after an investigation discovered he lied to NCAA investigators about this system’s impermissible contact with prospects. It was the second time Pearl was wrapped up in an NCAA investigation, together with the Deon Thomas recruiting scandal within the late Eighties.

On the time, Auburn was mired in apathy. This system had posted only one successful report in SEC play from 2001-17. After sitting on the sidelines as a result of NCAA punishment, Pearl wanted a job and Auburn wanted hope. 

Rotated Tigers

He turned Auburn from an SEC doormat right into a championship-level program. Pearl’s groups have been wonderful at defending the rim, yearly rating close to the highest of the nation in block share. He recruited the switch portal at a particularly excessive stage, serving to bigs like Walker Kessler and Johni Broome flip into the most effective variations of themselves. 

Pearl additionally elevated Auburn into a brand new zip code on the recruiting path. The highest 11 gamers that Auburn has landed within the web period have been all recruited by Pearl.

Steven Pearl anticipated to take over 

Now, Auburn shifts into a brand new period. Steven Pearl, Bruce’s son, is being promoted to full-time head coach, sources mentioned. Steven Pearl is 38.

Every Auburn participant could have a 30-day window to enter the switch portal because of the teaching change. The Tigers misplaced all however one rotation member from final 12 months’s Ultimate 4 membership, however Auburn nonetheless has a talent-laden roster, headlined by lone returner Tahaad Pettiford. The sophomore lefty is slated to be one of many SEC’s prime guards. Auburn additionally has ballyhooed switch forwards in KeShawn Murphy (from Mississippi State) and Keyshawn Corridor (from UCF), who would have critical markets in the event that they select to hit free company.