Auburn has fired general manager Brian Kloman. ESPN reported, citing a source, that the school let him go after alleging he withheld information vital to the eligibility case of international prospect Mantas Rubstavicius. Yahoo Sports reported that Rubstavicius will not play for the Tigers this season.

CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter reported that Auburn hired Kloman from Louisville in March, so he lasted about seven months. CBS described him as leaving "shrouded in controversy" and said he allegedly hid key details in what it called an eligibility snafu.

The outlets frame the cause differently. ESPN and CBS both stress the allegation that information was withheld. A HEAVY piece syndicated on Yahoo calls it a "major recruiting disaster" and says the firing was due "in part" to the Rubstavicius issue. That wording suggests other factors, but the summaries we have don't name any. Nothing we have says what the withheld details were, or what ruling made Rubstavicius ineligible. Nor do we know whether Auburn or Kloman has commented. Both ESPN's and CBS's accounts rest on allegations, and ESPN's rests on a single unnamed source.

The timing is awkward. The firing comes just before the 2026-27 season. Auburn is 0-0 and listed third in the SEC in our table, which holds only preseason placeholders. Our archive has no stats for Rubstavicius, so we can't say what the Tigers lose on the floor. The coaching staff we have on file lists Steven Pearl as head coach. Kloman's role was on the roster-building side, and no outlet has said who takes over those duties.

Auburn's first game is Wednesday, Nov. 4, against SELA. Louisville, Kloman's previous employer, opens a few days earlier, Monday, Nov. 2, against UTC. Open questions include whether Auburn will name a replacement and whether it will say more about the eligibility ruling.