Auburn adds proven roster-builder Brian Kloman as general manager

Auburn men’s basketball has added an experienced personnel mind to its basketball program, hiring Louisville’s Brian Kloman as the program’s new general manager, sources tell AuburnSports.

Kloman was promoted from assistant coach to Executive Director of Player Personnel & Strategic Initiatives under Pat Kelsey last August. He followed Kelsey for more than a decade, dating back to their time at Winthrop University.

Kloman was charged with oversight of the roster, recruiting and revenue-sharing at Louisville. In that role, Kloman was heavily involved in recruiting, roster construction and navigating the evolving landscape of college basketball, including NIL and roster management.

He will now do the same thing at Auburn for head coach Steven Pearl.

Kelsey said this of Kloman last summer: “Brian’s gift for anticipating and capitalizing on trends in college basketball is unmatched. His vision, work ethic, and ability to connect with players, coaches and stakeholders make him an invaluable asset. He’s been a driving force behind our success at Winthrop, College of Charleston, and now Louisville.”

Before last season, Auburn hired former Iowa assistant coach Matt Gatens to perform general manager duties. But following Bruce Pearl‘s retirement, Gatens was moved to an on-court assistant coach, leaving the general manager role vacant.

Kloman spent 11 seasons working alongside Kelsey, including stops at Louisville, College of Charleston and Winthrop University. Across those three programs, the duo combined for a 254-100 record, building a reputation for quickly assembling competitive rosters and sustaining success.

At Louisville, Kloman played a key role in a rapid turnaround. The Cardinals went 27-8 during the 2024-25 season, finishing near the top of the ACC standings and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. That success came after helping construct an entirely new roster, a testament to his ability to evaluate and acquire talent both domestically and internationally.

This past season, Louisville finished 24-11 and finished 6th in the ACC. The Cardinals earned a 6-seed, losing to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to Louisville, Kloman helped Charleston to back-to-back conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, and was part of multiple championship runs and tournament teams during a seven-year stretch at Winthrop.

Kloman’s background also includes coaching stops at Tennessee Tech, North Carolina Central and several smaller programs, along with founding RecruitingRumors.com, a widely used resource among college coaches.

Kloman graduated from Tennessee in 2002.

Now at Auburn, Kloman is expected to take on a central role in roster building, recruiting strategy and managing the program’s resources in an era where front-office structure has become increasingly important in college basketball.