Steven Pearl may have been on staff when his father, Bruce, assembled Auburn’s roster last year, but it was Steven who ultimately took over the program after Bruce’s unexpected retirement.
Following a season that ended with an NIT championship but marked Auburn’s first absence from the NCAA Tournament in five years, Pearl now has the opportunity to truly shape the roster in his own vision. Last season exposed some clear shortcomings, and Pearl believes he now understands what was missing.
“I’m extremely thankful for the guys we had last year,” Pearl said. “But along the way, I realized what types of pieces we really needed to be successful. We made it a priority to find those players in the transfer portal.”
Only Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton return as major contributors from last season’s rotation. Blake Muschalek could see a larger role if his shooting takes a step forward after averaging just 5.5 minutes per game. The biggest change, however, comes in the frontcourt, where Auburn struggled physically throughout the year.
Determined to fix that issue, Pearl aggressively added size and experience. Auburn brings in 7-foot-1 Bukky Oboye from Santa Clara, 7-foot Narcisse Ngoy from France, 6-foot-10 Owen Freeman from Creighton, 6-foot-8 Thomas Dowd from Troy, and 6-foot-8 Adam Olsen from South Alabama. The emphasis on length and maturity was intentional.
“Get bigger, get a little older,” Pearl explained. “We were extremely young last season, and it showed in key moments.”
After being thrust into the head coaching role and learning on the fly, Pearl says the biggest takeaway from his first year is a clearer understanding of roster construction moving forward.
“The biggest lesson for me was learning how I want to put a team together,” he said, a realization he plans to apply as Auburn looks ahead to the 2026–27 season.