Auburn wing Chad Baker-Mazara hits transfer portal

Auburn guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara announced Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal and play his final year of college basketball elsewhere. Baker-Mazara spent two seasons at Auburn and was a key component on the Tigers' Final Four team this past season. "First I wanna thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to do what I love but I wanna thank my teammates, coaching staff and the Auburn Family for the incredible support for this past two years!" Baker-Mazara wrote in a social media post. His decision means Auburn will have to replace its entire starting five from 2024-25. Johni Broome, Denver Jones, Dylan Cardwell and Miles Kelly were out of eligibility. Baker-Mazara is now 25 years old, but he is benefiting from a temporary waiver allowing athletes who played a year outside the NCAA -- in Baker-Mazara's case, junior college -- to have an additional season of NCAA eligibility. Baker-Mazara played one season apiece at Duquesne and San Diego State before spending 2022-23 at Northwest Florida State. In his 119 career games at the Division I level, he has averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. His best season was 2024-25, when he started 34 of 38 games for the Tigers and put up 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Auburn (32-6) spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to SEC rival and eventual national champion Florida in the Final Four. --Field Level Media