Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar dies in drowning incident at age 22

Omaha forward Deng Mayar died in a drowning incident in Utah, the school confirmed Sunday. Mayar was 22.

While swimming at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah, Mayar and a friend, Sa Mafutaga, both began to struggle to stay afloat, according to the Herriman Police Department. Mafutaga made it to shore but reentered the water when he saw Mayar struggling. Bystanders later entered the water to help Mafutaga, who was treated at the scene and transported to a hospital, where he is expected to recover, according to Herriman Police.

Herriman Police said it responded to a call at 5:40 p.m. local time about two individuals in distress in the reservoir. Rescue crews searched for hours for Mayar’s body before the police’s submersible robot located him at 10:40 p.m. Divers recovered Mayar at 11 p.m. and pronounced him dead at the scene, per police.

Authorities said Mayar went underwater 35 yards from the reservoir’s shore, and his family was present during the rescue crews’ search.

Herriman is a suburb of Salt Lake City, Mayar’s hometown. The 6-foot-8 forward transferred to Omaha this offseason after spending two years at North Dakota.

“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.”

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 https://t.co/CRqTmeiadl. pic.twitter.com/2le0ackqCM

— Omaha Men’s Basketball (@OmahaMBB) August 17, 2025

Mayar averaged 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in 42 games with North Dakota and helped the Fighting Hawks reach the Summit League tournament semifinals last season.

North Dakota coach Paul Sather said in a statement that the Fighting Hawks’ “hearts are broken” after learning of Mayar’s death.

“He was a wonderful person with a heart the size of a gym,” Sather said. “Our thoughts are with his parents and family, along with all his teammates from UND and UNO. As competitive as he was on the court, he had a gentle nature and kind soul off the court. Deng will be greatly missed by all of those that knew and loved him.”

(Photo: Clifford Oto / The Stockton Record via Imagn Content Services, LLC)