Omaha forward Mayar passes away in drowning incident

• Myron MedcalfAug 17, 2025, 09:30 PM ET

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  Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.

Omaha forward Deng Mayar, who moved from North Dakota this offseason, died Saturday in a drowning event, the school revealed Sunday. He was 22.

According to news reports, Mayar was with a pal at the Blackridge Tank in Herriman, Utah, when they began to struggle in the water. Per Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, Mayar’s pal reached the coast but returned into the water to help Mayar.Mayar continued to struggle and went undersea. He did not reemerge. Rescue crews recovered his body late Saturday night. His pal was hospitalized and is anticipated to recuperate, according to news reports.”Our whole program is ravaged to learn of Deng’s passing, “Omaha males’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield stated in a declaration.”After contending against him for two years, we were elated to include him to our group and he made incredible development this summer season.”[ Mayar] was a delight to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him considerably. Jodi and I, in addition to our whole program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng’s household, friends and colleagues. “The 6-foot-8 Mayar, who was raised in Salt Lake City, averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for North Dakota last season. He completed with 12 points and seven rebounds in a 92-79 win over South Dakota in his former team’s season ending. He then moved to Omaha after the season.