His family was in the Auburn locker room and Carter Sobera wasn’t really sure why.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl had called Sobera’s dad, Scott, on Thursday to tell him the news. He just couldn’t tell his son quite yet.

So following a 93-78 win Saturday night over LSU, Sobera’s family was there to watch as Pearl delivered the surprise.

“Nobody has done a better job earning a scholarship to play basketball at Auburn University than Carter Sobera,” Pearl slowly yelled out in the locker room.

Sobera’s teammates mobbed him in celebratory screams and water bottles dumped out on his hair as he put his head in his hands. For the Mountain Brook native, the award was the culmination of three and a half years of glamourless work as a walk-on resigned to the scout team. He was on scholarship at Auburn.

“I was definitely caught off guard,” Pearl said. “It was special for my whole family to be there. Especially for my grandparents who, this might have been their first game ever actually since I’ve been at Auburn. They had no idea it was coming either. That was pretty special to have everyone there and celebrate that moment with me.”

Pearl, fellow Auburn coaches, Sobera’s parents and his girlfriend Addison Watts were the only ones who knew. Sobera said Watts had to be away from him because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep the secret.

Auburn had one remaining scholarship before Sobera’s big night. College basketball programs are allowed 13 full scholarships. Auburn had all 13 allotted again after completing an NCAA penalty where Auburn lost one of its spots for the prior two seasons.

Following the 2022-23 season, knowing he was getting a scholarship back, Pearl promoted Lior Berman — another walk-on and Sobera’s high school teammate at Mountain Brook — onto a scholarship.

Berman is finishing his one year as a graduate student at Auburn and has been a part of Auburn’s 11-man rotation this season.

“Lior’s been like a big brother to me in some aspect of getting here and not really knowing what to expect,” Sobera said. “He’s been kind of the map of what to expect and what to do. Lior’s been helpful and to grow closer to him and now be on scholarship together, it’s been really cool in seeing just the work we put in both in high school and college just kind of paying off has been special.”

Pearl did not fill the 13th spot during the fall semester. But after the first week of spring classes, it was Sobera’s turn.

“I think when I went to bed on Saturday night and woke up yesterday,” Sobera said. “I was like, ‘This is real.’ Hearing from a bunch of people has been awesome. I’m very, very thankful for coach and all the staff and everyone who’s put time and effort into my time here and now giving me the opportunity to be on scholarship.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]