NEW YORK, NY — On the first weekend of 2026, Men’s College Basketball made headlines across the nation with a flurry of enticing matchups and intense dramatics.
Yet there was one story that stood out more than the rest and that was this past Friday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A top-25 ranked matchup between No. 24 USC and No. 2 Michigan—featuring arguably the two best Dominican men’s collegiate basketball players the sport currently has to offer—with Trojans’ Chad Baker-Mazara and Yaxel Lendeborg of the Wolverines.
As Michigan pulled away by a final score of 96-66 at the Crisler Center, Baker-Mazara (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) dropped 12 points to go along with two assists while Lendeborg (Dominican-American from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey), in consideration for 2025-2026 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year Award honors, recorded eight points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Soon after Friday’s affair, both Baker-Mazara and Lendeborg reposted a video on their Instagram story from a fan in attendance, which was a video of the duo waiting for an inbound pass, highlighting their Dominican ties with emojis of Dominican Republic’s flag.
The pair of upper classmen, each transferring to their current destinations after the 2024-2025 season—Baker-Mazara from Auburn to USC and Lendeborg from the University of Alabama at Birmingham to Michigan—have done their part and some when it comes to contributing on the floor this year.
2025-2026 Regular Season Statistics
Senior guard Chad Baker-Mazara: 20.4 points per game on 44.6 shooting from the field, 5.1 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game (14 games)—USC stands 12-2 on the season
Senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg: 15.1 points per game on 56.9% shooting from the field, 7.0 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game (13 games)—Michigan stands 13-0 on the season
With the 2025-2026 College Hoops season quickly approaching the halfway point, Baker-Mazara and Lendeborg plan to keep pushing forward in leading their respective team up the rankings all while representing Latinos to the fullest.
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