Bruce Pearl wins SEC Coach of the Year after third championship in five seasons

AUBURN – For the third time in his career, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl has been named SEC Coach of the Year.

Pearl led Auburn to 15 conference wins – a program record – and a first-place finish in the SEC regular season. It’s the Tigers’ second regular season championship in the last five seasons. Auburn also has a SEC Tournament championship, giving Pearl three titles in the last five seasons.

The Tigers led the SEC standings from start to finish this season. Pearl’s team started 10-0 in conference play and was never tied or trailing in the standings all season. Auburn finished the season 27-4 overall, the best record in the SEC.

“You look at the Coach of the Year Award for our staff, it’s a job well done,” Pearl said. “You look at these 18 games, there’s wins you can take for granted. Again, player development — Jabari has improved, Walker has improved, our team has improved, and we were champions. Those are things that have been recognized.”

Pearl was also named AP SEC Coach of the Year.

Previously, Pearl won SEC Coach of the Year in 2005-06 and 2007-08 while at Tennessee. Both of those seasons resulted in regular season championships for Pearl.

The Tigers finished the regular season inside the top 25 nationally of both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies, including top-10 finishes in effective field-goal-percentage defense and two-point defense. Last season, Auburn ranked well outside the top 100 in all major defensive categories.

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Auburn finished the regular season a perfect 16-0 inside Neville Arena – the first unbeaten record in a season inside the former Auburn Arena. Excluding the COVID year that limited fans inside the venue, Auburn has only lost four home games in the last four seasons, and at the same time won three SEC championships.

Remarkable rebuilding job

After last season’s 13-14 season, Pearl rebuilt this Auburn roster in a big way. Transfers Wendell Green Jr. (Eastern Kentucky), K.D. Johnson (Georgia), Zep Jasper and Walker Kessler (North Carolina) all chose to come to Auburn, while freshman phenom Smith had already signed and was on his way. Green Jr., Johnson and Kessler are all sophomores, joining Smith, and then Jasper was arriving after three seasons at College of Charleston.

Pearl inserted Smith, Jasper, Johnson and Kessler into the starting lineup, with Green Jr. coming off the bench. The five newcomers were arguably Auburn’s five best players all season. But, even as impressive as bringing in talent and molding it to the system and culture, was the job Pearl did with the rest of the roster. Jaylin Williams, Devan Cambridge, Allen Flanigan, Dylan Cardwell and Chris Moore were all players that played significant minutes one season ago. Yet, with the influx of talent, every one of those players became important role players off the bench. The depth gave Auburn a solid 10-man rotation that Pearl used to the Tigers’ benefit all season.

Under Bruce Pearl’s leadership, freshman Jabari Smith won SEC Freshman of the Week on six difference occasions, and was named Sporting News All-American. It’s the first All-American honor for an Auburn player since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson earned All-American honors in 1999. Smith will be Pearl’s highest-drafted player ever when the NBA Draft comes around.