The Stretch 4: Auburn is still looking for 'the last piece' of its roster

The Tigers want to add one more guard — but it doesn't have to be a specific position, as head coach Bruce Pearl said Monday.

HC Bruce Pearl (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)

LAKE MARTIN — Bruce Pearl says it “seems like yesterday” that he and his wife Brandi were setting up his first-ever Fore The Children Golf Classic.

That was 10 years ago, and the foundation has now raised $1.25 million and counting for Children’s Harbor, an organization at nearby Lake Martin that provides rest and relaxation for families dealing with serious illnesses.

The golf classic at Willow Point is an annual event that happens in mid-May. For most of Pearl’s tenure on the Plains, this is the time of year has been one where his roster has been complete — a true “offseason” in the early summer.

That’s no longer the case.

“I can't believe we're in the middle of May, and we're not done recruiting,” Pearl said Monday afternoon. “But that's what the combination of NIL and the transfer portal has done.”

Auburn’s 2024-25 roster is still a work in progress, with one major piece left to add. The Tigers are only a few days removed from the signing of SMU forward Ja’Heim Hudson, and Pearl says they’re involved with “a couple of good ones” for the last spot on the roster.

Pearl talked extensively Monday afternoon at Lake Martin before the shotgun start of the golf event, taking questions ranging from recruiting to returning players to the newcomers on a team that will have its sights set on competing for an SEC title.

In this special edition of The Stretch 4, here’s all of what we heard from Pearl as the Tigers look to put the finishing touches on their squad.