Chad Baker-Mazara commits to Auburn after interest from Kentucky

UPDATE

And...that’s that.

We hardly knew ya.

We have a new name to watch for on the recruiting trail for the Kentucky Wildcats, and this one comes from the junior college ranks.

On Thursday, Chad Baker-Mazara announced on Twitter that he was receiving interest from Kentucky.

For now, it appears to be just interest and not a scholarship offer.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound Baker-Mazara has had a journeyman career thus far. He was originally a class of 2019 recruit at Colonia High School in New Jersey, then spent a year at SPIRE Institute in Ohio.

Baker-Mazara would later sign with Duquesne, where he averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game during the 2020-21 season.

The following year, Baker-Mazara transferred to San Diego State, recording 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game during the 2021-22 season.

In Mountain West play, he averaged 7.9 points and 2.1 boards per game off the bench while shooting 47.3% from the floor, earning him Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year honors.

Among Baker-Mzazara’s biggest performances included scoring 17 points in a first-round overtime loss to Creighton in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

During the 2022 offseason, Baker-Mazara was removed from the team for failing to live up to academic responsibilities. That led to him joining Northwest Florida State Community College this past season. According to the school’s official website, he averaged 15.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 46.9% from deep.

While it’s pretty uncommon to see JUCO recruits make a significant impact for a Power Five program like Kentucky, he clearly isn’t your typical example, given that he’s already played at a high level for a San Diego State program that just made the national championship game and has won 108 games over the last four seasons.

Oh, and he obviously played with current Kentucky transfer target Keshad Johnson at San Diego State during the 2021-22 season. Johnson may become a Wildcat on Saturday.

Baker-Mazara did just tell Auburn Live that his three finalists were the Auburn Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, and Toledo Rockets, with a decision expected very soon. However, that was before Kentucky jumped into the mix, so perhaps that decision will wait a bit so Baker-Mazara can visit Lexington and see what John Calipari’s program has to offer.

Go follow our Twitter page and ‘like’ our Facebook page for more Kentucky Wildcats news and views. And Go Cats!!