Sports director Dragan Tarlac to leave Bayern at the end of the season

In addition to the anticipated coaching change, German champions FC Bayern Basketball are also reshaping their sporting management structure for next season: Dragan Tarlac has informed the club that, for personal reasons, he will step down at the end of the current campaign after two years in Munich.

The 53-year-old former NBA player and EuroLeague champion joined Bayern as sporting director in the summer of 2024 following his successful stint with the Serbian national team. Since July 2025, he has held the role of sporting CEO alongside Adrian Sarmiento, who serves as CEO Finance.

With Munich, Tarlac celebrated a successful title defence last year. Bayern now head into the 2026 BBL Playoffs as regular-season winners, with Game 1 of their opening series tipping off on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in the SAP Garden.

From the 2026/2027 season onwards, Thorsten Leibenath will join FC Bayern Basketball’s front office as the club’s new sporting CEO. The 51-year-old makes the move to Munich from last season’s BBL finalists Ulm. The Leverkusen native first worked there as head coach from 2011 to 2019 – earning BBL Coach of the Year honours in 2012 and 2017 – and has now served as sporting director of the EuroCup side for the past seven years.

President Hainer: “Crowning our time together with a championship”

“We would like to warmly thank Dragan Tarlac for his personal commitment over the past two years. He continued our basketball team’s path through a not entirely easy period in his own way. We wish him all the very best for the future; Dragan will always be a most welcome guest at our club,” said president Herbert Hainer. “Our full focus is now on successfully crowning our time together with another championship. At the same time, we are very pleased to have found in Thorsten Leibenath a superb expert of both the national and international basketball scene as his successor.”

“Grateful for the experience and collaboration”

Dragan Tarlac said: “First of all, the job here is not done yet, because we are determined to bring a third consecutive championship to Munich. That would be the perfect farewell for me, and I will support the team and the coaching staff in the best possible way until the very last moment. Working for one of the most significant basketball organizations in Europe has been a demanding experience over two outstanding seasons. I would already like to thank the club for the fantastic opportunity I was given at Bayern. I would not want to miss these experiences and the collaboration with everyone involved, including the excellent Bayern office staff – I will take all of that home with gratitude and then devote myself to the next chapter of my life.”

Out of respect for the postseason, which begins this week, FC Bayern Basketball will not comment on any further personnel matters until the conclusion of the 2025/2026 campaign.