Kennesaw State University Athletics

Philip Pearson will be starting his second year at Kennesaw State after joining the Owls coaching staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2024.

He quickly helped make an impact in his first year, as the Owls posted a 19-win season in 2024-25, the second-highest win total in school history. This past season, the Owls recorded numerous firsts, most notably the first-ever win over a Top-25 team (No. 24 Rutgers) and the first-ever Quad 1 victory (on the road at Liberty). KSU placed two players on the 2024-25 CUSA All-Conference teams, and also had both the first-ever CUSA Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American (Adrian Wooley) in school history.
 
Pearson brought a great wealth of experience with him to the Black and Gold with 30 years at the Division I level. Prior to arriving in Kennesaw, he was an assistant coach at UAB for the past four seasons. While in Birmingham, he helped the Blazers to two conference tournament championships (2023-24 American Athletic, 2021-22 Conference USA) and two NCAA Tournament appearance along with another appearance in the NIT championship game. Before joining the UAB staff, Pearson worked on staffs at Clemson, Mercer, Georgia, Alabama, Murray State and Little Rock. During his 30 years, he has been a part of 19 postseason appearances (11 NCAA, eight NIT) and eight conference championships.
 
This is Pearson's third stint in the Peach State, after first joining the UGA staff in 2009 and eventually rising to associate head coach under Mark Fox. He helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA tournament twice and make three NIT appearances in his six seasons, and would coach the 2013 SEC Player of the Year and eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
 
Pearson served on the coaching staff as an assistant at Alabama during Pettway's playing career, as he was on the sidelines from 1998-09. He finished his final season in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide's interim head coach over the final 13 games, and led them to a first-round win over Vanderbilt in the 2009 SEC Tournament. Alabama played in five NCAA Tournaments during his 11 years, and reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2004 with both Pettway and Davis as starters on the team.
 
Other NBA players that Pearson has coached include Trey Jemison from UAB, Hunter Tyson from Clemson, Trey Thompkins, Travis Leslie and Nic Claxton from Georgia, Gerald Wallace, Mo Williams, JaMychal Green, Alonzo Gee and Erwin Dudley from Alabama, Marcus Brown from Murray State, and Joe Stephens and Derek Fisher (Little Rock).
 
As a player at Alabama, Pearson played on four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams and won back-to-back SEC Tournament Championships in 1990-91. He was named the team's recipient of the Paul Bryant Student-Athlete of the Year award and was also a member of the President's List Academic Honor Roll. Pearson graduated from Alabama in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in human performance. He then served as an graduate assistant coach at Little Rock (1994-95) before finishing his degree at Murray State where he received a master's degree in health, physical education and recreation in 1997 while serving as assistant coach on the coaching staff.