USC announces Chad Baker-Mazara’s departure from the basketball program

Los Angeles, USA — The University of Southern California announced this Sunday that forward Chad Baker-Mazara, the team’s top scorer, is no longer part of the USC Trojans men’s basketball men’s basketball program.

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The university issued a brief statement through the team spokesperson, Kristen Keller, confirming the player’s departure, although without offering additional details about the reasons for his separation. Baker-Mazara left Saturday’s game, in which USC fell to Nebraska Cornhuskers men’s basketball, at the beginning of the second half after suffering a hard fall after blocking a shot by Pryce Sandfort. He later informed coach Eric Musselman that he could not return to the game. After leaving the meeting, the player sat among the fans next to the injured Rodney Rice, instead of staying on the bench with the rest of the team. “He said he couldn’t continue,” Musselman explained after the game, adding that at that moment he had not spoken with the medical staff about the player’s condition. Baker-Mazara, a 26-year-old graduate student, arrived at USC last spring after an extensive college career that included stints with Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball, San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball, Northwest Florida State Raiders, and Auburn Tigers men’s basketball. During his two seasons with Auburn, he started in 43 games, averaging 11.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, in addition to making nearly 40% of his attempts from the three-point line. He was part of the team that won the Southeastern Conference regular season title and reached the Final Four in the 2024-25 season. In his only season with USC, he became the team’s main offensive reference after Rodney Rice’s injury. Baker-Mazara averaged 18.5 points per game in 26 games, in addition to recording 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists, the best figures of his career. The player missed three games in February due to a knee injury, although he returned to score 21 points against Oregon Ducks men’s basketball and 25 against UCLA Bruins men’s basketball before Saturday’s game. The Trojans, with an 18-11 record and a 7-11 mark in the Big Ten Conference, are on a five-game losing streak and are looking to keep their hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament alive for the first time since 2023. The team will close out the regular season with games against Washington and UCLA.