Former Vol returning to Tennessee as Auburn's basketball head coach

Tennessee (14-6, 4-3 SEC) will host Auburn (14-7, 5-3 SEC) on Saturday.

Tipoff between the Vols and Tigers is slated for 8:30 p.m. EST at Food City Center. ESPN will televise the matchup.

Saturday will mark the return of former Vol Steven Pearl as head coach at Auburn. He is in his first season as the Tigers' head coach.

Pearl, a 2006 graduate of West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, played one season for the Rebels, averaging 21.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game during his senior campaign. He was a First-Team All-State player as he helped West finish with a 15-12 record after the Rebels won three games the previous year.

Pearl played at Tennessee from 2006-11 and redshirted during his freshman year. He appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, including the Vols' Elite Eight appearance in 2010. Pearl averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest, while playing in 101 games during his college career.

He played for his father, Bruce Pearl, at Tennessee. Steven Pearl replaced his father at Auburn when he retired from coaching, following the 2024-25 season.

Bruce Pearl, Tennessee's head coach from 2005-11, became Auburn's head coach from 2014-25, leading the Tigers to the Final Four in 2019 and 2025.

Steven Pearl began his coaching career at Auburn as his father's strength and conditioning coach from 2014-15. He was the Tigers' director of basketball operations from 2015-17. Steven Pearl was an assistant coach (2017-19) before being promoted to associate head coach in 2023.

On Saturday for the Tennessee-Auburn basketball game, Tom Hart (former radio voice of the Smokies) will handle play-by-play duties for ESPN, while former Vol Dane Bradshaw will be a color analyst. Steven Pearl and Bradshaw were teammates with the Vols.

More: Bruce Pearl reflects on his time with Mike Hamilton

Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Steven Pearl returning to Tennessee as Auburn's basketball head coach