Whether to stay in college or go pro, stay at your current school or use the transfer portal, honor the contract you already signed with your current school’s NIL collective, or try to renegotiate for more money—this is probably not a question that many collegiate athletes think about when they are deciding their next career move.
Planning for the next four months without worrying about the next forty years involves many considerations.
This leads us to Chad Baker-Mazara and Dylan Cardwell.
They were two of the starting players for Auburn’s greatest basketball team ever, and they were well-known for both their steady play and their distinct personalities. On the same day last week, they publicly bid the Plains farewell.
Through the transfer portal, Baker-Mazara is departing for one more season of collegiate basketball somewhere other than Auburn, and Cardwell is moving on to life after college basketball, his eligibility clock having expired. The Auburn family will remember them in very different ways.
He made it clear that the name on the front of the jersey and what it represents means as much to him as it does to them, and you can only imagine how many Auburn fans felt something in their eyes as they watched his farewell video and heard his voice convey the privilege of spending the last five years there.
Even though Cardwell accomplished a lot—finishing first in career field-goal percentage, second in dunks, and fourth in blocks—he will be one of the few people remembered more for who he was than for what he accomplished. Think about what it took to get there.
Before making his first start in the fourth game of his junior year, he appeared in 64 games while wearing an Auburn uniform. That season, he didn’t start again. He started in the fifth game of his senior season, but it was his only start of the year.
He entered this season, his fifth season on the Plains, having played in 128 games with only two starts. Bruce Pearl rewarded his extraordinary patience, his effervescent personality and his essential position as a team leader by starting him in all 38 games.
Cardwell enjoyed the best season of his college career. Auburn enjoyed the best season in school history. Ignore correlation versus causation. And it’s no accident.
He wasn’t the team’s best player. On a roster that was gifted with several of them, he was the best team player. As the player who cares the most about the bottom line and is least interested with his stat line, Cardwell stood strong beside Johni Broome, the Sporting News national player of the year, Tahaad Pettiford, an All-SEC freshman, and other exceptional players.
When he said in that farewell video, “It’s been an honor to play for you,” it served as a reminder of what college sports used to be and what they aren’t anymore—too frequently for too many people. The player who played and won more games in an Auburn uniform than Charles Barkley, Chuck Person, Chris Porter, or anyone else will walk away, but he won’t leave.
The Chad Baker-Mazaras have a place as well. After celebrating Miles Kelly’s entrance a year ago, Auburn supporters would be ridiculous to criticize him for playing his last collegiate season somewhere else. Giving and taking are both accomplished by the gateway, but its primary function is to clarify one thing. This business is bigger than it has ever been. First and foremost, each player’s business decision is his own.
As long as the short-timers show up for work and contribute positively to the bottom line, why can blame them?
During her two successful years at Auburn, Baker-Mazara assisted the Tigers in winning the 2024 SEC Tournament and the 2025 SEC regular-season championship. Even though he had several embarrassing moments (see 2024 Yale and 2025 Senior Day Alabama), Auburn was still a better team with him than without him.
Even when his actions were unjustifiable, the fan following came together to support him. As he said in the X post announcing his transfer portal entrance and Auburn exit, “I wanna thank my teammates, coaching staff and the Auburn Family for the incredible support for this past two years!”
Experience indicates that his remarks were honest, but when you use the “with that being said” approach after starting on a Final Four team, sincerity can push the limits of plausibility in these portal departure posts.
Baker-Mazara picked the two-year option for his Auburn experience. It was mutually beneficial until it wasn’t. Ask any former Auburn athlete who went the distance, whether they were an All-American or a walk-on, to understand the importance of that dedication. Cardwell went the distance.
A man can be respected long after he has finished playing because of the respect he offered and received. Chad Baker-Mazara will be remembered at Auburn. Dylan Cardwell will, too. How they’ll be remembered, and for how long, is where they’ll go their separate ways at last.
