Though Chad Baker-Mazara’s shooting stroke might appear seamless, Chad had to sacrifice his life in Santo Domingo for it. He was told as a junior in high school that he would be living in the US with his grandfather starting next Monday. His father, Derrek, knew that the transition was going to be tough for him as Chad could speak very little English at the time. However, he also knew that it was the step to take if his son wanted to play Divison-1 basketball. “I told him before he left, at 16, you have to go to the States,” Derrek told Auburn Live.

This sacrifice paid off as Chad quickly adapted, learning English and excelling at Colonia High School in New Jersey, where he averaged 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game as a senior, earning the Home News Tribune Player of the Year award. And how could it not? Chad’s father was confident in his decision as he had seen his son play basketball since second grade when he often had to jump against kids in the fourth or fifth grade. He remembers him getting crunched up when going for layups. But he always got through and continued to play. “I knew he could play,” he said.

In the same interview with Auburn Live, Derrek said that if one were to ask Chad about his early life, he’d probably say that my dad planned my life out. And it’s fair to say the older Baker did a pretty good job at it.

Who is Chad Baker-Mazara’s father Derrek? Was he a professional basketball player?

Chad’s father, Derek Baker, played college basketball for the South Carolina State University from 1984-1985, before taking his talent overseas, as both a player and a coach. A fact that shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’ve watched Chad’s defensive highlights is that his father is currently the Head Defensive Basketball Coach for the Dominican Republic Men’s National Basketball Team, a position he has held for eight years, as per his LinkedIn profile.

While this basketball lineage gave Chad early exposure, he never pushed the sport onto him. He even calmly navigated his son’s soccer phase where he often requested Messi cleats. When basketball finally became the official path, Derrek was pretty happy since he could now gift him LeBron gear. He always tried to make Chad play the wing, even if he was the tallest player. And by the time Chad was 11 or 12, he was already practicing with professional teams, the ones his dad led. Now you can probably gather why he has such a high basketball IQ.

His father also had a role in him playing for SDSU. When Chad’s name was listed on the transfer portal, over forty schools reached out to Derrek Baker on the first day itself. The family was pretty confused, but not overwhelmed. After a number of meetings, his dad and his grandfather, Bailey Baker, went with the Aztecs.

“I am his dad,” Baker told EVT when asked about the decision. “I want what he wants. Every kid wants to go to the NBA. Maybe if he does what Dutcher tells him, he can make it. If not, he has his passport here (in the Dominican Republic). He can have his passport in Europe. If he wants to, he can make some money playing basketball.”

Who is Chad Baker-Mazara’s mother?

Carmen Mazara is the mother of Chad Baker-Mazara who might be living miles away in the Caribbean but holds tremendous importance in Chad’s decisions. Mama knows best, as they say. Bruce Pearl and his staff understood this and went all out.“I seen how they interacted with my mother when I went to my visit,” Baker-Mazara said explaining what prompted him to choose the Tigers.

“My momma doesn’t really speak English. She kind of understands it if you talk slowly, but I seen them with their phone, talking to Siri, trying to translate stuff to Spanish the whole three days we were there. That really touched my heart because most schools that I went to, they were just, ‘Oh, hi mom,’ but kept her to the side. But my momma, that’s like my heart and soul, so seeing that little thing that they were trying to do just to make her feel comfortable, and make her feel at home, that just, like, broke my heart and I was like, OK, these guys, they’re going to take care of me. Just little things, they really mean a lot, at least to me.”

While less is documented about Carmen’s background, her presence has been a constant source of support in Chad’s life. During a game against Ole Miss, Chad made eye contact with Carmen in the stands after a breakaway dunk, pulling his jersey forward to proudly display “Auburn”. Also, he was just two years old when his mother stuck a hoop in his crib. And interestingly, the first time he held the small ball that came with the hoop, he flung it and swish! It went in. His first goal! His parents then exchanged curious and shocked glances. They knew it wasn’t just a lucky shot, but a spark of something bigger.