Auburn Lands Transfer Who Previously Left Program

With the conclusion of spring ball across the country, many programs, including Auburn football, are reaping the benefits of players darting for the transfer portal. On Sunday, the Auburn Tigers received commitments from two defenders who look to be immediate impact playmakers.

Alongside Maryland Terrapins linebacker Caleb Wheatland, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn will welcome back defensive lineman Jay Hardy.

The 14th-ranked defensive tackle in the 2020 class per 247Sports, Auburn stole Hardy away from the Tennessee Volunteers on signing day five offseasons ago. However, his time at Auburn was short-lived, with the interior lineman darting for the transfer portal and eventually the Liberty Flames in 2021.

Following a redshirt season to start his Flames career, Hardy tallied 16 tackles in 2022. He had a career-high 31 tackles, five TFLs, and two sacks in 2023 before earning Lombardi Award Preseason Watch List honors last offseason. Unfortunately for Hardy, he played in a career-low seven games, posting seven tackles with no sacks.

ardy joins an Auburn team that allowed just 3.1 yards per rush attempt last season, tied for the third-best mark in the SEC. He will compete with Malik Blocton and Zykeivous Walker for playing time at defensive tackle.

Blocton is the frontrunner, collecting 16 tackles, four TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. Walker also had three TFLs on the season. Meanwhile, Auburn football signed five-star defensive line recruit Malik Autry and four-star prospect Darrion Smith, also a defensive lineman.

Baker-Mazara is entering his seventh year of college basketball. With the Auburn Tigers in the 2024-25 season, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from three-point range.

Baker-Mazara was a polarizing figure in college basketball this season, with multiple technical fouls and ejections. Head coach Bruce Pearl defended Baker-Mazara’s actions all season long, saying he is “Crazy and mine,” in a press conference on March 30.

“My crazy. No, listen, passion, intensity – he cares so much. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. That’s one of the things that sometimes gets him, where he gets out of sorts a little bit. He wants to win so bad. Again, doesn’t want to disappoint his teammates,” Pearl said.
“The thing I’ve told Chad is, ‘Look, you can affect the game, and the outcome of the game is winning by rebounding, by defending, by using your length, by communicating.’ Yeah, he can go through phases where he can get really hot. I trust Chad Baker-Mazara with the ball in his hands. I think he’s going to make the right read and the right play.”

Baker-Mazara was ejected in the second game against Alabama on March 9 after elbowing Alabama guard Chris Youngblood in the back of the head.