TheDyme
The TakeOct 26, 2026

Mantas Rubštavičius Drops His NCAA Lawsuit After 8 Years as a Pro, and Auburn Fires Its GM

Auburn247 reports first-year GM Brian Kloman knew of a European college enrollment he did not share with staff. Auburn fired him Monday, and the guard heads back to Europe.

Dyme card with the headline: Mantas Rubštavičius Drops His NCAA Lawsuit After 8 Years as a Pro, and Auburn Fires Its GM

Photo: EuroLeague. Mantas Rubštavičius, Žalgiris Kaunas guard, official EuroLeague headshot from the 2025-26 season, inside a Dyme card.

Mantas Rubštavičius is dropping his eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA and will not play for Auburn this season, per court documents obtained by Auburn247, and Auburn confirmed Monday that it has fired first-year general manager Brian Kloman. The 24-year-old Lithuanian guard spent eight years in pro leagues before signing in Alabama, per Auburn's June 23 signing release, and he now heads back to Europe.

Per Auburn247's report, citing sources, the case was badly damaged by a fact, not the rule. The report says Kloman was the primary recruiter and knew Rubštavičius had been enrolled in college in Europe, but did not tell the rest of the staff. AuburnSports also reported that new information about his eligibility came out.

What the case was about

The fight was over how many seasons count. Per Auburn Undercover's read of the NCAA's filing, the NCAA's position was that Rubštavičius had already played four seasons overseas after the one-year grace period that follows high school. His side argued that one of those seasons, 2022-23, fell under an exception for organized national or international competition, since he played for Lithuania's national team. The NCAA answered that it had narrowed the paperwork for that exception because it was being stretched.

His second argument was timing. Per the Montgomery Advertiser's timeline of the court documents, he signed a revenue-sharing agreement with Auburn on April 25 and a financial aid agreement on May 3. The NCAA sent new eligibility guidance to schools on May 8 and approved it with a unanimous vote on May 23, the same day Auburn announced the signing. The NCAA denied his reinstatement and waiver requests on Sept. 11, and he filed for a restraining order on Oct. 14. Per AL.com, he paid money back to his Lithuanian club to leave.

The player Auburn just lost

Per Basketball Reference's international pages, Rubštavičius has 72 games across the EuroLeague, EuroCup and Australia's NBL. His best EuroCup year came in 2024-25 at Lietkabelis: 12.4 points in 25.1 minutes over 14 games. In the NBL, with the New Zealand Breakers in 2023-24, he made 43.3 percent of his threes in 23 games.

Last season at Žalgiris, he barely played in the EuroLeague, at 4.3 minutes a night over 17 games. The Lithuanian league was the real workload. Per be-basketball, he averaged 7.8 points in 15.4 minutes over 32 LKL games and made 45.2 percent of his threes on 3.3 attempts a game.

The Auburn Observer called him an expected starter. In the same June 23 release, coach Steven Pearl called him "one of Europe's most accomplished young players."

What Auburn still has

Kevin Overton and Tahaad Pettiford both announced they would return after the Tigers won the NIT, per Auburn's athletics site. Narcisse Ngoy, Auburn's other international signee during the offseason rule changes, was cleared by the NCAA on Oct. 8, per the Montgomery Advertiser.

The NCAA's May guidance

Kloman came over from Louisville in March. Auburn began recruiting Rubštavičius on March 24, per the timeline, and he committed within the week.

Per AL.com, the NCAA guidance filed as an exhibit in the lawsuit says staff should consider the totality of a player's experience with a pro team, including length of time and quality of the league. The NCAA's reinstatement guideline chart also lists "educational nexus" among those factors.

Per his statement, Rubštavičius is choosing "an opportunity in Europe" over the uncertainty of the lawsuit.

What to watch

No replacement for Kloman had been announced as of Monday evening.

Sources:

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