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The weekend in college hoops
Creighton, ASU add impact international players, Georgetown loses its GLOBL JAM finale, UConn-Illinois agree to new series, Texas A&M gets yet another scorer, and Omaha mourns the death of Deng Mayar.
Samuel Lance
August 18, 2025
Good morning. Thanks for reading the Field of 68 Daily. Today’s newsletter opens with some sad news.
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1. Omaha ‘devastated’ about Deng Mayar’s death
University of Omaha forward Deng Mayar drowned this weekend in an accident in Utah. He was 22.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Athletics and our program mourn the tragic passing of Deng Mayar. He was 22 years old.
Full statement at OMavs.com.
— Omaha Men’s Basketball (@OmahaMBB)
10:30 PM • Aug 17, 2025
Reports indicated that Mayar and another person were swimming at a reservoir in Utah on Saturday night when police responded to a call for two people in distress. Mayar was unable to get out of the water. Divers recovered his body later night.
Mayar transferred to Omaha this offseason after spending the past two years at North Dakota. The Salt Lake City native started his career at Howard College JUCO.
"Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng's passing,” Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement. “After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team and he made tremendous progress this summer. Deng was a joy to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him greatly. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng's family, friends and teammates."
The 6-8 Mayar was raised in Salt Lake City. He averaged 6.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg for North Dakota last season.
“We are devastated to learn of Deng’s passing. On behalf of our university community, our love and sincere condolences are with his family during this difficult time. We also wish his friends and teammates in Omaha, North Dakota, and Salt Lake City family, peace as they process this tragic loss," said Joanne Li, chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Adrian Dowell, Director of Athletics.
2. Creighton, Arizona State land international prospects
It’s the middle of August. The start of official practice is just a bit over a month away, and teams are still adding pieces to round out their 2025-26 squads. Welcome to the new world of college hoops.
