Lincoln – Nebraska Men's Basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg announced Wednesday the signing of junior college standout Lat Mayen (pronounced LATT [rhymes with MATT] my-yen) to a National Letter-of-Intent.
Mayen, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Adelaide, Australia, who began his collegiate career at TCU, will have two years of eligibility at Nebraska beginning this fall and provides the Huskers with size and versatility in the frontcourt.
"We are pleased to welcome Lat to Husker basketball," Hoiberg said. "He is a high-motor player who provides us with an immediate presence on the glass. He battled injuries in his two years at TCU, but he showed that he can play at a high level when healthy. His skill set is tailor-made for how we want to play, as he is a 6-foot-9 forward who can crash the glass and spread the floor with his ability to hit 3-point shots. He plays extremely hard and his experience will help our younger players."
Mayen spent the 2019-20 season at Chipola (Fla.) College playing for Coach Brendan Foley, helping the school to an 18-10 record. Mayen, who was the No. 34 prospect in the latest JucoRecruiting Top 100, averaged 11.8 points per game on 47 percent shooting along with 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 38 percent from 3-point range (38-99) and 81.5 percent from the foul line for the season.
Inside conference play, he raised his numbers across the board, averaging 14.6 point and 9.1 rebounds per game, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range on his way to collecting earned first-team All-Panhandle Conference accolades. On the year, Mayen totaled eight double-doubles in his lone season at the school, highlighted by a 20-point, 16-rebound effort against Northwest Florida State. In all, he reached double figures in 20 of his 28 appearances and totaled 11 double-figure rebounding efforts as a sophomore.
Mayen began his collegiate career at TCU for two seasons under Coach Jamie Dixon. After redshirting his first season, he played in 17 games before a left knee injury ended his 2018-19 campaign. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.9 minutes played per game. His best performance of the year came in a win over West Virginia, when he had season highs in points (12), rebounds (six), field goals (three) and minutes (26). He also had eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in 11 minutes off the bench against Lipscomb.
Mayen was one of the top recruits in Australia in the 2017 class. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 2 ranked player in Australia by AUSA Hoops. He was a member of the Australian National Program, playing in the 2016 Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany on the U18 team and was in the U19 National Team program. Mayen averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists for Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence during the 2016-17 season, shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range. He attended Concordia College for school and graduated in December of 2016. Mayen represented South Australia in the Australian U20 national team in 2016 and averaged 11.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He played club basketball with the Sturt Sabres, helping them to a 50-3 record in his final season with the club.
Lat Mayen averaged 11.8 ppg and 8.7 rpg at Chipola College in 2019-20.