There’s a big one, folks — and it has to do with one of Kentucky’s top competitors in the SEC.
Auburn star Chad Baker-Mazara, pursuing his sixth season of college basketball, plans to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. Coming off a Final Four run with the Tigers as the team’s second-leading scorer, the 25-year-old — he will be 26 in conference play next season — will become one of the top available names in college basketball.
He started at Duquesne in 2020-21, followed by San Diego State in 2021-22, Northwest Florida State (JUCO) in 2022-23, then Auburn from 2023-25. The 6-7 guard from the Dominican Republic averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.6 minutes per contest across 38 games. He shot 44.8 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from three and 88.8 percent at the free-throw line.
Baker-Mazara had 25 games scoring in double figures this past season at Auburn — including a season-high 22 points in a 94-78 win at Kentucky back on March 1.
Auburn was a historically great No. 1 overall seed this past season, earning 19 Quad 1 wins with zero Quad 2-4 losses, the Tigers steamrolling their way through the regular season en route to an SEC championship. They lost three of four entering March Madness, but regrouped to win four in the Big Dance on their way to San Antonio before losing to eventual national champion Florida. Baker-Mazara had 18 points on 6-10 shooting and 4-7 from three with four steals in that 79-73 defeat.
The 6-7 guard will have one season of eligibility remaining thanks to his JUCO stint at NW Florida State.
Could he be an option for Kentucky, who is still looking for a wing shooter after striking out on some top targets for the role? The talent suggests it’s an obvious fit — and the Wildcats have extra cash handy after losing out on Lamar Wilkerson to Indiana and Acaden Lewis coming off the books following his decommitment. If Baker-Mazara is looking for a pay raise at a big-time program, Lexington is an easy place to look.
In fact, a source tells Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ that Kentucky was floated as a potential school of interest for Baker-Mazara in recent weeks, assuming he entered the portal.
On the flip side, Mark Pope has been stressing culture fits for over a year now and there are obvious concerns in that area — he’s been ejected from two games for Flagrant 2 fouls, beyond other on-court antics. Bruce Pearl affectionally called the super senior ‘crazy’ with next-level passion.
“Crazy and mine,” Pearl told 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.”
One thing is for certain: If Kentucky gets involved, BBN will have some tweets to delete.
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