For every player drafted into the NBA, others take a longer road. Ezra Ausar, who spent this past season with USC, is now on that road: undrafted, but signed by the Miami Heat to play for their Summer League team, according to NBA undrafted free-agent trackers.
A strong final season
Ausar, a forward, was one of the Trojans' most reliable contributors in the 2025-26 season, averaging 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in nearly 30 minutes a game, per his player profile. Those are the kind of steady, physical-forward numbers that catch an NBA staff's eye even when they don't translate into a draft slot.
What Summer League means
Going undrafted is not the end of the story — it is a different beginning. Each summer, the NBA's Summer League gives undrafted players, second-year prospects and hopefuls a stage to prove themselves in front of coaches and front offices. A strong showing can earn an invitation to training camp, a two-way contract that splits time with the G League, or, occasionally, a spot on the regular roster. For Ausar, the Heat's willingness to bring him aboard is the first hurdle cleared in a long summer of them.
The Los Angeles connection
For USC, Ausar's signing is a familiar kind of win — a Trojan getting a professional opportunity even without hearing his name called on draft night. He now joins the crowded, high-stakes scrum of Summer League, where dozens of players chase a handful of jobs. Whether he sticks in Miami, lands elsewhere or begins his pro career in the G League, the forward who spent last winter at the Galen Center has done the hard part first: he got his foot in the door.
