Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara commits to USC

Former Auburn small forward Chad Baker-Mazara has committed to USC out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Joe Tipton reports. Baker-Mazara announced his intention to enter the portal on April 17.

The 2025-2026 season will be the fifth year of college basketball for Baker-Mazara — his final season of eligibility. 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.

But getting back to the Division I level has seen Baker-Mazara really thrive. In two seasons with Auburn, he is averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 39.4% from three. A 6’7 frame means Baker-Mazara can defend nearly every position on the court. Baker-Mazara helped lead the Tigers to a Final Four appearance this past season.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl showed a lot of trust in Baker-Mazara, mainly this past season as Auburn turned itself into one of the best teams in the country. A risk another head coach out there might be taking in the near future.

“Crazy and mine,” Pearl said ahead of the Elite Eight on ESPN. “My crazy. No, listen, passion, intensity — he cares so much. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. That’s one of the things that sometimes gets him, where he gets out of sorts a little bit. He wants to win so bad. Again, doesn’t want to disappoint his teammates.

“The thing I’ve told Chad is, ‘Look, you can affect the game, and the outcome of the game is winning by rebounding, by defending, by using your length, by communicating.’ Yeah, he can go through phases where he can get really hot. I trust Chad Baker-Mazara with the ball in his hands. I think he’s going to make the right read and the right play.”

As of Wednesday, March 26, over 1,250 Men’s College Basketball players had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. That number is expected to grow now that the 2024-25 college basketball season has reached its conclusion.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.