Steven Pearl Praises Kaden Magwood’s Emergence: ‘Keep Making Me Look Bad’

It has not been exactly the freshman campaign of dreams for Auburn Tigers guard Kaden Magwood, who committed to Bruce Pearl’s squad back in November of 2024. The former four-star has seen very limited playing time throughout his freshman campaign, but eyebrows began to raise after an impressive NIT performance against South Alabama.

After recording minutes in just 15 games this season, Magwood exploded out of the gate in the Tigers’ NIT opener, scoring a season-high 14 points on 50 percent shooting. He also made three of his seven attempts from beyond the arc, a performance that left fans wondering why exactly Magwood has not been seeing time.

Head coach Steven Pearl, on Friday, let the media in on a comment he made to Magwood after the game.

"I told him, 'Keep making me look bad,’” Pearl said. “‘The more you make me look bad, the better our team looks.'"

Steven Pearl on Kaden Magwood: "I told him, 'Keep making me look bad. The more you make me look bad, the better our team looks.'"
— Nathan King (@NathanKing247) March 20, 2026

The reason for Magwood’s absence is heavily debated, with some arguing that it is due to an unsavory comment towards his head coach that allegedly appeared on his social media earlier in the year.

However, Pearl told the media earlier in the year that junior guard Blake Muschalek would play over Magwood due to Muschalek’s defensive efficiency. Pearl argued that Magwood was a solid player, but his defense needed more refining if he was to see full-time production.

"If he can continue to guard like he always does," Pearl said of Muschalek after an impressive performance against Arkansas, in which Magwood saw no playing time. "It's one of those 'less is more'-type roles at that backup point guard position; somebody that can come in and do what's required for us to be better defensively and just get us into our stuff offensively."

However, Magwood saw a near-season high 17 minutes against South Alabama, a number only eclipsed by the 19 minutes he played against Jacksonville State, in large part due to an adjusted rotation following KeShawn Murphy’s sudden departure from the program before Tuesday's game. He is not expected to return.

While Auburn’s season left a lot to be desired, Magwood’s emergence provides a glimmer of hope as the Tigers round out the 2026 season in the NIT before turning its attention to 2027. The one-seed Tigers play Seattle U on Sunday in the Second Round of the NIT in Neville Arena. Television coverage can be found on ESPN 2.