Aaron Fearne

Biography

Aaron Fearne was named Charlotte’s 14th head coach on Feb. 12, 2024. The Cairns, Queensland, Australia native was elevated to full-time after a standout 2023-24 season leading the 49ers from an interim role. He was named a finalist for the 2024 Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year award, which is given to the top rookie, first-year head coach in Division I, after leading Charlotte to a 19-12 overall record, highlighted by a 13-5 mark in conference play for the program’s first top-three league finish since 2006. Fearne led the 49ers to tying a pair of program records in his inaugural season, thanks to 13 conference victories and an equal number of wins at Halton Arena, the most since the 2019-20 season. Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak in program history, the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2010, and the first overall since 2013 when it upended No. 17 Florida Atlantic on Jan. 6, 2024. Before being named interim head coach on June 15, 2023, Fearne served as an assistant with the 49ers for five years, including a year as the associate head coach during the 2022-23 season. He played a pivotal role in attracting three of Conference USA’s top-ranked recruiting classes and helping Charlotte in 2023 to its most wins since 2000-01 (22). The campaign included the 49ers’ first appearance in the C-USA quarterfinals since 2015-16 and later the program’s first postseason tournament title with a College Basketball Invitational-winning run.