Auburn Basketball Lands Four-Star Commit, First of Steven Pearl Era

The Auburn Tigers scoop up a blue-chip recruit to jump start the new era under a new head coach

The strong recruiting trail continues for Auburn, at least for now | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Though new Auburn basketball skipper Steven Pearl suffered a loss in his first official game as the Tigers’ head coach, recruits don’t seem to be all that worried. Case in point, the Tigers landed a new commit on Friday in four-star combo guard Caleb Williams, the first recruit of Steven Pearl’s tenure.

Not to be confused with Caleb Williams of USC fame, the Tigers’ latest commit is six-foot-five, 195 pounds and the 138th-best recruit in the nation. He’s ranked as the 22nd-best shooting guard, his official position, and the 22nd-best player in the state of Florida, per 247 Sports’ composite rankings.

Auburn’s seeing a lot of new faces on the court this year, as big names like Johni Broome, Miles Kelly, Denver Jones and more have departed from the team to take the next step into the NBA. As such, the Tigers are seemingly building a brand-new roster out of new players, except point guard Tahaad Pettiford, who’s returning for his sophomore year. 

Additionally, the team has a different, though familiar, face at head coach in Steven Pearl, son of legendary Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, who stepped away from the position this offseason.

Williams likely won’t have to wait long to see playing time at Auburn, as new head coach Steven Pearl has made a point to allow most of his players significant time, regardless of age. Nine different Tigers ended up with more than 10 minutes of playing time against Oklahoma State, seven of whom stayed on the court for at least 20. 

This isn’t a new methodology for the Tigers, as the 2024 team made headlines for just how deep the depth chart was, with upwards of eight to nine players receiving significant minutes in any given game. Pearl seems to be following in his father’s footsteps, which is likely a reason Williams chose to commit to the Tigers.

Four of Auburn’s starting five were new faces, too, so Williams will have a chance to step into a team that’s not likely to have a proven starting five headed into 2026. Joining a program that’s as dominant as Auburn has been over the last few years, Williams is surely hopeful to be the next big thing for the Tigers.