CONTRIBUTED BY
AU ATHLETICS
AUBURN —
For the second-straight season, Auburn assistant men’s basketball coach Steven Pearl was lauded as one of the 50 most impactful high-major assistant coaches in NCAA Division I basketball by Silver Waves Media.
The global media company annually highlights the top assistants in the nation at both the high-and mid-major levels through consultation from a panel of industry professionals.
Pearl completed his ninth overall season on The Plains and sixth as an assistant coach for the Tigers, who were ranked a program-best 32 consecutive weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll including No. 11 in the nation, turned in the 11th-most wins in program history with a 21-13 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
As the program’s top assistant, Pearl has taken the lead the last two years with transfer portal recruiting, landing one of the top transfers in the country in Johni Broome, who developed into an All-SEC Second Team and USBWA All-District IV Team performer this past season for Auburn.
The Tigers have also been a hotbed for producing next-level talent as Walker Kessler (2021-22) and Jabari Smith (2021-22) closed out their first year in the league on the NBA All-Rookie First and Second Teams for the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, respectively.
Kessler was also a top portal recruit who earned All-America, National Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC First Team honors under the guidance of Pearl and the coaching staff.