Lat Nai Mayen Nai (born 16 August 1998) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for three different colleges between 2018 and 2022, finishing with a two-year stint with the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

. He began his professional career with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

of the NBL in 2022.

Early life and career

Mayen was born in

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

and grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, where he attended Concordia College and graduated in 2016. He represented South Australia at the 2016 Australian Under 20 nationals and played club basketball with the Sturt Sabres. In 2016, Mayen debuted for the BA Centre of Excellence in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL). In nine games, he averaged 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He returned to the Centre of Excellence in 2017 and averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in eight SEABL games.

College career

Mayen moved to the United States to play

for the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competing mostly in the Big 12 Conference. The sc ...

. After redshirting the 2017–18 season, Mayen joined TCU for the 2018–19 season. He played in 17 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.9 minutes played per game. For the 2019–20 season, Mayen joined

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA). He helped the school to an 18–10 record and averaged 11.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He was subsequently named first-team All-

Panhandle Conference The Panhandle Conference is a conference within the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 8. The conference consists of four state colleges and one community college located in Florida. Members Member institutions are Chipo ...

. For the 2020–21 season, Mayen joined the

. He was forced to play out of position at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

early in the season as Nebraska was without Derrick Walker and Eduardo Andre for the first six games of the year. He was one of two Huskers to start all 27 games and finished with averages of 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his final four games, which included a game with a career-high 25 points against

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

. He led led Nebraska with 48 made 3-pointers. In the 2021–22 season, Mayen battled a back injury early in the season but managed to start 31 games and average 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He had two double-digit scoring games in 2021–22, including a season-high 13 points against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. Mayen had been touted as a sharp shooter upon joining the Huskers, but finished his career shooting 33% from 3-point range with 77 total 3-pointers. Despite having a year of eligibility remaining, Mayen decided to not return to Nebraska for the 2022–23 season in order to begin his professional career.

Professional career

In May 2022, Mayen joined the

Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...

of the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. In 15 games during the 2022 season, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. On 29 June 2022, Mayen signed a two-year deal with the

of the National Basketball League (NBL). In 16 games during the 2022–23 season, he averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. In March 2023, Mayen joined the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organi ...

of the

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a NBL1 conference based in South East Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1 to replace the South East Australi ...

. In 20 games during the 2023 season, he averaged 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds 2.25 assists per game. Mayen returned to the Taipans for the

2023–24 NBL season The 2023–24 NBL season is the 46th season of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2023–24 season. Australian broadcast rights to the sea ...

. In 27 games, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Mayen joined the

for the 2024 New Zealand NBL season. He left the team mid season after making the final Olympic trial group for South Sudan. On 16 April 2024, Mayen signed with the

for the 2024–25 NBL season.

National team

In 2016, Mayen played for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the FIBA Oceania U18 Championship. He also played for Australia at the 2016

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) is an international basketball competition that is played between national basketball teams of the Under-18 men age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between t ...

in Germany. Mayen was selected by the

South Sudan men's national basketball team The South Sudan national basketball team is the national basketball team representing South Sudan. Its official name is South Sudan Basketball Federation. It was established in May 2011, and became a member of FIBA in December 2013. They are nic ...

in an extended squad in the lead up to the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

Personal life

Mayen is a cousin of fellow basketball players,

Yuat Alok Yuat Kuol Alok (born 1 January 1997) is a South Sudanese-New Zealand professional basketball player for Al Hilal of the Libyan League. He played college basketball in the United States for four different colleges between 2016 and 2022. He made ...

and

Kouat Noi Kouat Noi (born 29 October 1997) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Early life Noi was born in Khartoum, Sudan during the height of the Second ...

References

External links

NBL profileTCU Horned Frogs bioChipola College bioNebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayen, Lat 1998 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Australian people of South Sudanese descent Basketball players from Adelaide Cairns Taipans players Chipola Indians men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players South Sudanese men's basketball players South Sudanese emigrants to Australia South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in the United States TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball players Wellington Saints players