USC’s Top Scorer Chad Baker-Mazara Leaves Team With Two Games Remaining

University of Southern California's leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara has departed the basketball program with just two regular season games left. The 26-year-old graduate transfer was averaging career-high numbers this season but his departure comes as the Trojans have dropped five consecutive games.

The University of Southern California announced Sunday that their top scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, has left the basketball program.

Baker-Mazara’s exit comes at a crucial time, with only two regular season contests remaining before the Trojans travel to Chicago for the Big Ten tournament. USC is currently struggling through a five-game losing streak.

University officials did not specify why the graduate transfer departed the team. During Saturday’s home defeat against 12th-ranked Nebraska, Baker-Mazara was spotted sitting among spectators along the baseline instead of with his teammates on the bench throughout the second half.

Given ongoing legal challenges to NCAA eligibility regulations, Baker-Mazara’s extensive 145-game collegiate career appears to have concluded.

The 26-year-old player has competed for five different college programs across six seasons, which included one year at a junior college level. Following single seasons at both Duquesne and San Diego State, he attended Northwest Florida State College during the 2022-23 academic year.

Baker-Mazara experienced his most successful period at Auburn, where he posted averages of 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists across 73 contests, starting 43 of those games. However, he was removed from an NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against Yale in 2024 after receiving a flagrant 2 foul for elbowing an opposing player; Yale subsequently defeated the fourth-seeded Tigers in an upset.

Despite that setback, Baker-Mazara contributed to Auburn’s rise to the top ranking in the nation for much of the 2024-25 season and their advancement to the Final Four, where they fell to SEC rival and eventual champion Florida.

During his time with USC, Baker-Mazara started 22 of his 26 games and recorded career-high averages of 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per contest.