Auburn sophomore center Austin Wiley has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, the NCAA announced on Thursday.

Wiley will be eligible to return for the 2018-19 season following an NCAA reinstatement decision after an internal investigation and self-reported violations by Auburn regarding recruiting, extra benefits and agent-related activity.

Auburn can appeal the NCAA's decision to the Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. According to the NCAA, the decision on Wiley is "based on currently available information from the school" and applies only to the individual eligibility of Wiley.

"We will follow the normal NCAA appeals process based on today's decision," a university spokesman said.

Wiley and redshirt sophomore forward Danjel Purifoy have been held out of games this season by Auburn amid concerns about their eligibility stemming from the FBI investigation into the criminal influence of money on college basketball that rocked the sport in the fall. Wiley is believed to be one of two Auburn players referenced in a federal complaint against former associate head coach Chuck Person, who was one of 10 people -- including four assistant coaches from across the country -- arrested Sept. 26 as part of the investigation.

Person is alleged to have received $91,500 in bribes over a 10-month span to use his influence over two unnamed Auburn players to steer them toward financial adviser Marty Blazer, who was serving as a cooperating witness for the FBI, and to buy suits from Rashan Michel, who is listed as Person's co-defendant in the complaint. Person was charged with six federal crimes, including fraud and conspiracy charges, and faces a statutory maximum of 80 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

According to the federal complaint, Person told Blazer that he gave $11,000 of the $91,500 to the mother of "Player-1," who is widely believed to be Purifoy, and another $7,500 to the mother of "Player-2," who is believed to be Austin Wiley. Michel also claimed to give $5,000 to the mother of "Player-2."

"The thing we've said is all along, what I've said to Austin is, 'hey guess what, at the end of this year, you're going to put your name in for the draft anyways,'" Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Thursday night during an appearance on Tiger Talk. "'Whether you played this year or unfortunately not playing this year, when this season is over you're going to see what your draft position is, and if it's where you want it to be, you're going to go in the draft and if it's not you're going to come back.' He's eligible to come back next year."

While a decision has been made on Wiley's status for the season, Purifoy's remains less clear.

"We don't know anything on Danjel," Pearl said on Tiger Talk.

A Hoover native who attended Spain Park High School before transferring his senior season, Wiley averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 23 games last season and was expected to start at center for the Tigers this season.

Wiley missed nearly a month of practice before the season to a "stress injury" to his left leg. He and Purifoy have both worked with Auburn's scout team while being held out of games.

Pearl on Thursday said both Wiley and Purifoy are expected to remain with the team through the remainder of the season whether they are cleared to play or not, adding that both players are enrolled in classes for the semester, which began on Wednesday.

Prior to the NCAA's ruling on Wiley, Pearl expressed hope that both players would be cleared to return to the court this season. Without Wiley and Purifoy, who would be Auburn's starting center and small forward, respectively, Auburn is off to a 15-1 start to the season, including a 3-0 mark in SEC play. The Tigers are ranked 22nd in the AP poll -- the first time the program has been ranked since 2003 -- ahead of Saturday's road trip to Mississippi State.

"Austin's still in position, as is Danjel, to do everything he dreamed of doing short of being able to be a part of this year's team on the floor," Pearl said. "So we're trying to see the positive in that. But yeah. we've been hit in the mouth, hit in the gut. We're going to keep swinging."

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.