Chad Baker-Mazara transfers to USC after helping Auburn reach the Final Four
The 6-foot-7 forward started 34 of 38 games for the Tigers last season, averaging 12.3 points and 3.0 rebounds while earning All-SEC third-team honors. The Tigers lost 79-73 to eventual national champion Florida in the national semifinals, with Baker-Mazara scoring 18 points.
'He's a proven winner and will be a player that we can play all over the floor,' USC coach Eric Musselman said Tuesday. 'Chad will be one of the best returning players in the country this year. Chad plays with incredible passion and emotion that can lift a home crowd.'
Baker-Mazara, who is from the Dominican Republic, started nine of 35 games in his first season with the Tigers. He was selected to the SEC All-Tournament team.
He previously played at Northwest Florida State College and Duquesne before transferring to San Diego State as a sophomore. He was the Mountain West's sixth man of the year and helped the Aztecs to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Baker-Mazara is the sixth player to join USC for next season via the transfer portal.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Rowers revel in beach sprints in the run-up to LA's 2028 Olympics
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — It's a beach run, a coastal row and a music party rolled into one, and it's about to become an Olympic event. On a sunny Southern California morning, nearly two dozen athletes gathered to try their hand at beach sprints at a camp run by USRowing in Long Beach, not far from where the inaugural Olympic races will be held in 2028. Many were long-time flatwater rowers who wanted to take a shot at something new. Others were already hooked on the quick-paced and unpredictable race format and have been training with an eye on LA28. Two at a time, athletes run to the waterline, hop in a boat, row a slalom course, then turn around and return to shore to jump out and dash across the sand to hit a finish-line buzzer — all in about three minutes. "You don't just have to be a good rower — you also have to be a good athlete, and what that means is you've got to be able to be dynamic and adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws at you," said Maurice Scott, a long-time rower from Philadelphia who moved to Long Beach to prepare for the Olympics. The next summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles and nearby cities. Interest in beach sprints has risen since the International Olympic Committee announced its inclusion, especially since the games will no longer feature a lightweight rowing category popular among smaller athletes. Rowing officials developed the beach sprint format a little over a decade ago hoping to engage spectators in a sport that's otherwise removed from people watching from the shore. A standard 2,000 meter-flatwater race is typically only visible closer to the finish line. In beach sprints, athletes compete close to the crowds in a dynamic and much shorter race that fans can easily track from the sand. Guin Batten, chair of World Rowing's coastal commission, said the vision is to have a fun, lively event on the beach where spectators can listen to good music, be close to the action and follow their favorite athletes. The entire event runs just an hour. 'It's knockout. It's chaotic,' said Batten, an Olympic rower who helped develop the format. 'Until you cross a finish line, anyone can win that race.' Many traditional flatwater rowers accustomed to steady strokes on calm waterways have no interest in the ups and downs of wind and waves. But other long-time rowers are hooked. Christine Cavallo, a beach sprinter on the U.S. national team, said she loves the unpredictability of the waves, which can humble even the most incredible athletes. 'You could be the best rower in the world and get flipped by the wave," Cavallo said. Coastal rowing has long been popular throughout the world but different cultures have used different boats and rules. Part of the appeal of beach sprints is the boat has been standardized and is provided at competitions, which makes it easier for more athletes to try it. The first major international beach sprints competition was at the 2015 Mediterranean Beach Games in Italy. Head of the Charles, known for its yearly October flatwater regatta in Massachusetts, hosted its first beach sprints event in July. About 100 rowers, twice as many as expected, participated, said Brendan Mulvey, race director. Since the Olympic announcement, Tom Pattichis, British Rowing's head coach for beach sprints, said he now has athletes training full-time in the event. Meanwhile, Marc Oria, the USA Beach Sprint head coach, said camps in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Long Beach aim to bring the race to long-time rowers and others who haven't tried it. Athletes find it exhilarating because it requires them to be agile and adaptive as well as superb rowers, he said. 'It's growing exponentially in the last four years all around the world,' Oria said. 'Our goal for U.S. rowing is to create more events, more opportunities, and to create a good pipeline for 2028.' At the camp in Long Beach, competitors included a teacher, an Olympic rower, a marketing professional who began rowing a few weeks earlier and a high school senior. 'I tried it and I really loved it, so I came back,' said Bridgette Hanson, a 17-year-old rower from Arizona who raced in beach sprints for the first time this year in Florida. 'It requires a lot more brute force.' John Wojtkiewicz, coach of the Long Beach Coastal Team, called out to racers to help guide them through the course. He said he's eager to see how the Olympic venue is set up and hopes spectators can get a good view like they do at surfing events. 'What is great about the beach sprint — and this may have helped its development — is you can watch the entire race,' Wojtkiewicz said. "Anything can happen.'
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Harris II's grand slam caps 9-run fourth as Braves rally to beat Mets 11-6
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Harris II hit a grand slam Wednesday night to cap Atlanta's biggest inning in almost five years — a nine-run outburst in the fourth that propelled the Braves to an 11-6 comeback win over the slumping New York Mets. The Braves fell behind 6-0 in a game delayed 95 minutes by rain before storming back against David Peterson and Reed Garrett (3-5). Peterson issued four free passes in the fourth, including a bases-loaded walk of Nick Allen, and gave up Jurickson Profar's three-run double before Marcell Ozuna greeted Garrett with an RBI single. Three batters later, Harris hit a 417-foot homer to straightaway center. The nine-run inning was the biggest for the Braves since Sept. 9, 2020, when they scored 11 times in the second inning of a 29-9 win over the Miami Marlins. Ozuna hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Aaron Bummer (2-2), the first of five Braves relievers to follow Carlos Carrasco, tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Carrasco gave up six runs in two innings. Pete Alonso had a two-run single and Cedric Mullins lofted a sacrifice fly in the first before Juan Soto hit a 407-foot, two-run homer and Jeff McNeil had an RBI double in the second. Peterson surrendered a season-high six runs over a season-low 3 1/3 innings. The Mets have lost 12 of 14. Harris' grand slam was his first since last Aug. 14. Key stat The Mets gave up at least nine runs in an inning for the ninth time in franchise history and the first since Apr. 16, 2019, when the Philadelphia Phillies scored 10 runs in the first inning of a 14-3 win. Up next The three-game series concludes Thursday night, when Mets RHP Kodai Senga (7-4, 2.30 ERA) opposes Braves RHP Bryce Elder (4-9, 6.12). ___
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Cubs calling up top prospect Owen Caissie in huge move
The Cubs are making a splash. Chicago is calling up outfield prospect Owen Caissie from Triple-A Iowa, ESPN reported Wednesday night. The expectation is that Caissie, an Ontario, Canada native, will join the team for its series final against the Blue Jays. Advertisement National League outfielder and highly touted Cubs prospect Owen Caissie drives in a run during the seventh inning against the American League during the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12, 2025. Brett Davis-Imagn Images The 23-year-old Caissie — the top Cubs prospect and No. 45 overall on MLB Pipeline — is in the middle of a fantastic season in the minor leagues. In his second full season in Triple-A, he's hit .289/.389/.566 with a career-high 22 home runs. Advertisement Across 499 games in the minors, he has totaled 81 home runs with an .873 OPS. He's always had plenty of swing-and-miss in his game, though, this year included, with a 28 percent punchout rate. The move comes amid a complete upheaval in the standings over the last month, which has seen the Cubs go from one game up in the National League Central on July 19 to 7 1/2 games back of the Brewers as Milwaukee rides a 12-game winning streak. Chicago does sit 4 games up in the NL wild-card race despite the recent stretch, however. Over the last two weeks, Chicago's offense has completely sputtered, coming into Wednesday night's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays with a .230 average and a .644 OPS over the last 14 days. Top Cubs prospect Owen Caissie looks on during the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park. Getty Images Advertisement Chicago will now be without catcher Miguel Amaya, who was carted off the field on Wednesday after he sprained his ankle while running out a ground ball. 'It's swollen up pretty good already,' Counsell told reporters after the game. 'It's an IL [trip]. It's bad luck, unfortunately, and we're going to miss him.'
