Steven Pearl Faces First Major Test as Auburn Basketball Head Coach as Portal Reopens

Bruce Pearl's retirement opened the transfer portal for members of the Auburn Tigers for 30 days.

Steven Pearl is confident the team will remain together despite the portal opening. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.-- Two days into his new gig as the Auburn Tigers' head men's basketball coach, Steven Pearl is already facing his first test: the NCAA Transfer Portal.

With his father Bruce's retirement on Monday, the portal automatically opened for 30 days for current Auburn players, giving those players the option to find new homes less than two months before the 2025-26 season begins.

While the possibility of losing players is there, Steven Pearl is confident in his and the staff's ability to retain players. That was evident by every player showing up for practice just hours after Bruce Pearl confirmed his retirement.

"Our players and their parents have all been phenomenal in our conversations. We were very transparent with them," Pearl said. "We told them in the very beginning that with this change, you are allowed the opportunity of a 30-day window to explore your options. In the recruiting process, we told our guys our commitment to you is to do what’s best for you and your family. If that’s going somewhere else, we’re going to support you in that endeavor. Do we want you to leave? Absolutely not. We want to keep this thing together."

The players' loyalty was even more impressive considering the suddenness of Pearl's announcement, which came after a report from ESPN's Jeff Borrello.

"We worked through how we wanted to present it to the players. Obviously, we were disappointed how it got out. We did not intend for it to happen that way," Pearl said. "It made an already hard situation even more difficult. I think there’s never going be a perfect transition or a perfect way of doing things. There’s just not. It’s really hard to contain those things, but when it did happen, obviously, the room was heavy."

Pearl specifically praised the players for their immediate reactions, explaining the group understood and respected Bruce Pearl's decision, which was based on spending more time with his family and taking time to do personal things.

The reactions were just as impressive as the loyalty with Auburn having a relatively new roster for next season.

Of the 18 players currently on the roster, 10 are new to the program with four incoming transfers and six true freshmen. Nonetheless, Pearl is confident in the roster despite the lack of experience playing together.

"We want to keep this team together because this team should have pieces and the things that we need for them to be successful," Pearl said. "It’s going to take a little time, but we’re getting close. I feel like we’re in a good spot right now.”