The Auburn Tigers struggled in the first season of the Steven Pearl era after his father, Bruce, surprised everyone with his retirement. Heading into Year 2, the younger Pearl is much more confident after a big offseason of talent acquisition.

During the Media Day event for SEC Basketball less than a month before the start of the season, Pearl expressed excitement about his roster and the depth on it this year.

Steven Pearl on Auburn's improved depth:

"(Last year) we only had 6 or 7 guys that we felt like could play in the rotation. I'm in a place now, this year, where we feel like we have 13 guys that can really play meaningful minutes and contribute for us." pic.twitter.com/AikVoiB21s

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 13, 2026

“Throughout the summer, I think we were really able to lean into the depth that we had built in the portal and in the high school ranks and in our retention pieces we brought back,” Pearl said. “Last year we had stretches during the season where if a guy was a little dinged up, we really couldn’t have a productive practice. We only had 6 or 7 guys that we felt like could play in the rotation. I’m in a place now, this year, where we feel like we have 13 guys that can really play meaningful minutes and contribute for us this year.

“The ability to be able to deal with injuries, deal with foul trouble…it’s nice to have that many pieces that you can plug and play as the year goes on.”

Not only did Auburn bring back stars like Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton from last year’s team, they supplemented that with transfer portal additions such as Owen Freeman, Adam Olsen and Bukky Oboye, as well as numerous others.

On paper, this roster should be a whole lot better and more equipped to get the Tigers back competing for SEC titles, and also to quiet the noise around Steven Pearl.