Auburn’s Pearl Named Co-AP Coach of the Year

NEW YORK — Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has been named the Co-AP Coach of the Year along with St. John's Rick Pitino — marking the first tie in the history of the award. Pearl is the first SEC coach to win the award since John Calipari in 2015.

Pearl joins Cliff Ellis as the only other Auburn coach to win the award. Ellis won the ward in 1999, where the Tigers won 29 games and made the Sweet Sixteen.

Pearl led an Auburn team this year that was nearly unstoppable for the majority of the season, spending eight straight weeks at the top spot in the AP poll.

The 65-year-old led his Auburn squad to a program-record 32 wins so far this season, winning the SEC regular season title, and bringing the Tigers back to the Final Four for the first time since 2019, which also marked the last time Auburn made the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

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Pitino led the resurgence of St. Johns this season, winning 31 games, tying the school record for the Johnnies, while earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament in his second year on the job. Pitino is the first St. Johns head coach to win the award.

Pearl and the Auburn Tigers will look to reach the NCAA title game for the first time in program history Saturday at 5:09 p.m. CT as they take on a familiar SEC foe, the Florida Gators.

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