Auburn's men's basketball program participates in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference. It was founded in 1906. Auburn has won three SEC tournament titles and five conference regular season titles. It has made 13 appearances in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the 2019 Final Four.
Auburn has had 98 players selected to the All-SEC team, while 13 players have been named All-Americans. Jabari Smith (2022), the highest-ever pick (3rd overall) taken in Auburn history, is one of the 35 NBA draft selections that Auburn has produced. Charles Barkley and Chris Porter, two players from Auburn, were awarded SEC Player of the Year in 1984 and 1999, respectively.
Eight head coaches have been chosen as SEC Coach of the Year for Auburn, including former Auburn coach Cliff Ellis, who was awarded National Coach of the Year in 1999. Charles Barkley, a former basketball player for Auburn, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Auburn Tigers Men’s Basketball Head Coach 2024
Bruce Pearl, the head coach at Auburn, is in his tenth year at The Plains. He has led the Tigers to 173 victories in nine seasons, the program's first-ever No. 1 rating in national surveys, and an unforgettable appearance in the NCAA Final Four in 2019. Among the achievements of the three-time SEC Coach of the Year are the two regular-season Southeastern Conference championships, two SEC Tournament championships, and five NCAA Tournament berths with the Tigers.
Pearl is presently ranked 13th among active NCAA Division I coaches in career wins (635) and eighth all-time among winningest SEC coaches (318 career victories at Auburn and Tennessee combined). The Tigers made history again in 2022–2023 when they concluded the season with a 21–13 overall record, which is the 11th-most wins in program history. Auburn is now the second-winningest program in the SEC, having produced 20-win seasons in five of the previous six years.
Bruce Pearl’s Physical Attributes
Age | 64 years old |
Weight | 76 kg. |
Bruce Pearl’s Age
Bruce Pearl's age as of February 2024 is 64 years old; he was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1960. Pearl attended Sharon High School, but due to an injury, he wasn’t able to pursue basketball as a player. He graduated from Boston College.
Bruce Pearl’s Height
The information regarding Bruce Pearl's height is rather dicey, given that it could be between 5 feet 11 inches and 5 feet 6 inches, and can't be verified.
Bruce Pearl’s Weight
Bruce Pearl weighs 76 kg or 165 lbs.
Auburn Basketball Head Coach, year-by-year
The head coaches of Auburn basketball are as follows, year by year:
Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
1905–21 | Mike Donahue | 16 | 74–80–1 | .481 |
1921–24 | Wilbur Hutsell | 3 | 16–24 | .400 |
1924–25 | Herb Bunker | 1 | 3–11 | .214 |
1925–28 | Mike Papke | 3 | 38–18 | .679 |
1928–29 | George Bohler | 1 | 6–15 | .286 |
1929–30 | Hal Lee | 1 | 1–10 | .091 |
1930–33 | Sam J. McAllister | 3 | 25–18 | .581 |
1933–42, 1945–46 | Ralph "Shug" Jordan | 10 | 95–77 | .552 |
1942–43, 1944–45 | Bob Evans | 2 | 4–28 | .125 |
1946–47 | V. J. Edney | 1 | 3–18 | .143 |
1947–49 | Danny Doyle | 2 | 21–25 | .457 |
1949–63 | Joel Eaves | 14 | 213–100 | .681 |
1963–73 | Bill Lynn | 10 | 130–124 | .512 |
1973–78 | Bob Davis | 5 | 70–61 | .534 |
1978–89 | Sonny Smith | 11 | 173–154 | .529 |
1989–94 | Tommy Joe Eagles | 5 | 64–78 | .451 |
1994–2004 | Cliff Ellis | 10 | 186–125 | .598 |
2004–10 | Jeff Lebo | 6 | 96–93 | .508 |
2010–14 | Tony Barbee | 4 | 49–75 | .395 |
2014–now | Bruce Pearl | 10 | 214–119 | .643 |
Auburn Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff 2024
The Auburn Tigers basketball team's coaching staff as of 2024 is listed below:
Name | Title |
Bruce Pearl | Head Coach |
Steven Pearl | Associate Head Coach |
Ira Bowman | Assistant Coach |
Corey Williams | Assistant Coach |
Chad Prewett | Assistant Coach |
Mike Burgomaster | Assistant Coach / Offensive Coordinator |
Associate Head Coach
In August 2023, Steven Pearl received a promotion to Associate Head Coach; he has been a member of the Auburn men's basketball team for over a decade now. His responsibilities include opponent scouting and defensive strategies. Moreover, he has been instrumental in his aggressive recruiting tactics.
Under his father Bruce's guidance, Pearl has significantly contributed to one of the largest rebuilds in college basketball history, being named one of the 50 most impactful high-major assistant coaches in NCAA Division I basketball by Silver Waves Media the past two years.
Six NBA Draft selections have emerged from Auburn under Pearl's leadership—more professionals than in the preceding 20 years. Over the previous six years, the Tigers have also won more games in the NCAA Tournament than any other SEC team.
Assistant Coaches
Ira Bowman is in his sixth season as Bruce Pearl's assistant coach at Auburn. MCA.com ranked him as one of the Top 5 high-major assistant coaches in college basketball. After playing for six seasons at the University of Pennsylvania under head coach Steve Donahue, he transferred to Auburn.
Bowman made the recruiting and development of Jabari Smith, Isaac Okoro, JT Thor, and Sharife Cooper, in large part, possible. Smith was a unanimous first-team All-American, the 2021–22 team's top scorer (16.9 points per game), the National Freshman of the Year, and the SEC Freshman of the Year.
Corey Williams, a 23-year coaching veteran who played for the Chicago Bulls, the 1993 NBA Champions, is in his first season joining head coach Bruce Pearl as an assistant men's basketball coach. For the last two seasons at Texas Tech University, he was an assistant coach, including head coach, in an interim capacity.
Over the course of his more than 20 years as a coach, Chad Prewett won ten state titles in high school basketball. In August 2023, he was promoted to assistant coach. Prewett has worked with the program since June 2014, holding a number of positions such as director of operations, interim assistant coach, and special assistant.
Mike Burgomaster is in his eighth season as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the Auburn men's basketball team. He was promoted in August 2023. Prior to then, from 2019 to 2023, he worked as the deputy director of operations, and from 2021 to 2023, he coordinated recruiting and was an assistant to the head coach.
Auburn Men's basketball Support Staff 2024
The Auburn Tigers basketball team's support staff is listed below as of 2024:
Name | Title |
Marquis Daniels | Director of Player Development |
Ian Borders | Director of Scouting and Recruiting |
Maddux Jeffreys | Director of Operations |
Damon Davis | Director of Sports Performance |
Clark Pearson | Senior Athletic Trainer |
Bridget Graba | Executive Assistant to the Head Coach |
Steven Leonard | Director of Creative Content |
Bryant Smith | Graduate Assistant |
Kevin Fuhrer | Assistant Equipment Manager |
Courtney Gage | Associate AD / Academic Services |
Jeremy Napier | Chaplain |
Marlene Navor | Director of Communications |
Kevin Roberts | Director of Creative Video |
Max Johnson | Strength & Conditioning Graduate Assistant |
Reagan Sparks | Men's Basketball and Athletics Administration Graduate Assistant |
FAQ's On Auburn basketball coach
A. Auburn's men's basketball program was founded in 1906.
A. Auburn's men's basketball program has won three SEC titles as of 2024.
A. Bruce Pearl is the head coach of Auburn's men's basketball team in 2024.
A. Auburn has produced 35 NBA draft selections, including Jabari Smith, the highest-ever pick (3rd overall) in Auburn history.
A. Yes, Bruce Pearl is the father of Steven Pearl.