After a historic season and a second run to the Final Four, the Auburn basketball team is set to look almost completely different next season. The only player from last year’s squad that may return is freshman Tahaad Pettiford, and that’s only if he decides to withdraw from the NBA Draft.
Jahki Howard and Addarin Scott both his the transfer portal after the season. Howard’s entry did not come as a surprise, and Scott’s departure does not really impact the roster. The biggest surprise came when fan-favorite Chad Baker-Mazara decided to enter the transfer portal, and it was widely reported that it was a money-driven decision.
For a team that is looking at returning zero or one player from last season, Baker-Mazara is a big loss, especially seeing as he was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer last year. According to Rivals’ Kyle McAreavy, Baker-Mazara is arguably the biggest loss to the transfer portal in the SEC.
“Considering Auburn was only going to return one starter from last year’s overall No. 1 seed team, losing that one starter has to be one of the biggest departures for any team this portal cycle,” wrote McAreavy. “I struggled to weigh the difference between losing a guy for one year versus losing the longer-term potential of a younger player. I decided to go more with what I think will affect a team most in the coming season and there’s a tough argument that Baker-Mazara leaving doesn’t leave Auburn in a significantly worse spot than if there had been any amount of starting continuity from last year to next year.”