Auburn Basketball Steals General Manager From Fellow Power Program

The Auburn Tigers have a new general manager, stealing Brian Kloman over from the Louisville Cardinals and head coach Pat Kelsey. Kloman is a former Tennessee graduate like head coach Steven Pearl, though their time at the school did not overlap.

“The moment comes in life when you have an opportunity to do something you have always wanted to do. This is one of those moments,” Kloman said via Justin Ferguson on X. “Serving Coach Pearl and this staff will be an absolute honor. Working every day to make this Auburn Community proud will be on my mind every time I wake up on the Plains. Thank you to the Auburn administration, the basketball staff and Coach Pearl for this opportunity.”

quotes from Auburn HC Steven Pearl — and new GM Brian Kloman — on the hire pic.twitter.com/Z4AN9HPwL5
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) March 26, 2026

Kloman was an experienced member of Kelsey’s staff at Louisville who had seemed joined to the Cardinals’ coach at the hip. Kelsey worked with Kloman on his staff for each of the last 12 seasons in various roles, most recently Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives with the Cardinals.

Over those 12 seasons, Kelsey and Kloman rose through the ranks of coaching. The duo started together at Winthrop, where Kelsey was for nine seasons and seven Big South Championships. They then moved to the College of Charleston, where they made the NCAA Tournament twice in three seasons.

At Louisville, Kelsey and Kloman have resurrected the program. After just 12 wins across two seasons, the duo has led the Cardinals to a 51-19 record and brought the program to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Kloman helped with recruiting efforts on staff, bringing in a portal class that ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Auburn spent the 2025-26 season without a listed general manager after Matt Gatens, who was brought on to fill the role, was promoted to assistant coach following Pearl’s promotion to the head coaching position after Bruce Pearl's preseason retirement.

The last-second shuffle, plus Auburn’s mass reload in the transfer portal after losing all but one contributor from the 2024-25 Final Four team, made it clear that the Tigers could benefit from a dedicated general manager. Steven Pearl seemed excited about the new addition, via a post by Auburn Men’s Basketball on X.

“What separates Brian is his ability to identify and assemble talent, build cohesive teams, and constantly find new ways to gain a competitive edge,” Pearl said. “He is a true go-getter with an innovative mindset, and his impact will be felt across every facet of our program.”

With Auburn worried about potential losses in the portal this offseason following a disappointing end to the regular season, the addition of Kloman should help with both player retention and player acquisition in the portal, giving the Tigers a reliable and proven presence at the helm entering a potentially tumultuous offseason.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, and X for the latest news