Johni Broome Reacts to Auburn Star Entering Transfer Portal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rodney Knuppel | Last updated Apr 17, 2025 3:49 PM ET

One of the busiest teams in college basketball since the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament has been the Auburn Tigers. There have been very few days without the Auburn basketball team making headlines.

Bruce Pearl will have his work cut out for him as he looks to guide the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the second consecutive season. In 2024–2025, the Tigers fell to Florida in San Antonio by a score of 79–73.

Coach Pearl and his staff are working to reload the roster for another run following the mass exodus of players from the SEC championship team. The latest news revealed that another one of their key players is leaving town.

Auburn star Johni Broom shared on his personal Instagram the news of his former Auburn Teammate Chad Baker-Mazara entering the transfer portal.

The story was originally from Bleacher Report Hoops and had a caption, "Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara has entered the transfer portal. Baker-Mazara will be 25 years old at the start of the '25-26 season."

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Broom, of course, expects to be selected early in the 2025 NBA Draft. The former Tampa Catholic star spent two seasons at Morehead State before playing 104 games at Auburn. He averaged 18.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Baker-Mazara arrived at Auburn from Duquesne. He originally committed to Mississippi Valley State but later flipped and played for the Dukes.

Before his collegiate career, he starred at Northwest Florida State and Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.

He started 34 games for Auburn, averaging 12.3 points per game. In the final game of the season, he scored 18 points against Florida. He also delivered standout performances late in the year, scoring 22 points each against Ole Miss and Kentucky.

Coach Pearl will look to continue building the roster following Baker-Mazara’s departure, along with Brome, Denver Jones, Dylan Cardwell, Tahaad Pettiford, and Miles Kelly. Early additions for the Tigers include Keyshawn Hall from Central Florida and KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi State.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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