In surprising news from the SEC basketball world on Thursday, On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton reported that veteran Auburn basketball guard Chad Baker-Mazara is planning to enter the transfer portal after the Tigers’ run to the Final Four this past season.
NEWS: Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara is entering the transfer portal, source tells @On3sports.
The 6-7 senior averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game this season. Scored 18 points on Florida in the Final Four. https://t.co/U0L0rgRi4M pic.twitter.com/1Wy5PHISoO
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 17, 2025
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Baker-Mazara confirmed the news on his own X account:
“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 the past two years! With that been said I would be entering the transfer portal. Gracias Auburn!”
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! With this been said I would be entering the transfer portal. Gracias Auburn!🔟🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/EpN3rItTdd
— Chad Baker-Mazara (@ChadBaker2700) April 17, 2025
Baker-Mazara, who will put on his fifth collegiate jersey in the fall, turned 25 this past January and will be 26 by the end of the next basketball season.
“Duquesne was where his career got started before transferring to San Diego State. A stint at Northwest Florida State is why his eligibility is still remaining, as he was a JUCO transfer,” Griffin McVeigh explained in On3’s breaking news post.
- 2020-2021: Duquesne
- 2021-2022: San Diego State
- 2022-2023: Northwest Florida State
- 2023-2024: Auburn
- 2024-2025: Auburn
Baker-Mazara spent his previous two seasons at Auburn and helped Bruce Pearl’s program rack up 59 total wins in those two years. This past season, Baker-Mazara averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game for an Auburn program that spent much of the regular season ranked as the top team in the country.
In two games against Tennessee last season, Baker-Maraza scored seven points in the Tigers’ two-point win in Auburn and scored nine in the Vols’ SEC Tournament semi-finals win later in the year. The 6-foot-7 wing went 1-2 in his career against the Vols, with the other loss (92-84) taking place in Knoxville during the 2023-2024 season.
Baker-Mazara averaged 26.2 minutes on the court in Auburn’s five NCAA Tournament games this past season, with a tournament-high 18 points in the Tigers’ Final Four loss to Florida. Auburn defeated Alcorn State, Creighton, Michigan, and Michigan State in its tournament run before losing to eventual National Champion Florida in the semi-finals.
Baker-Mazara will be one of the most coveted veteran players in the portal.
