LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball is continuing to propel players toward professional futures, as Zeke Mayo has revealed he now has one himself.
Mayo, who posted the news on social media on Instagram, shared with ADS Sports Management that he has signed on with the Washington Wizards for a summer league opportunity following the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s the third player from this past season’s Jayhawks squad to be known to make this jump. The other two are Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris Jr.
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Mayo spent just one season at KU, after transferring in ahead of the 2024-25 season from South Dakota State. He acclimated well to the Big 12 Conference, after leaving SDSU as the Summit League’s player of the year for the 2023-24 campaign. He earned multiple All-Big 12 accolades while playing for coach Bill Self.
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Here’s what Mayo brings to the team:
Pros of Washington picking up Zeke Mayo after 2025 NBA Draft
Mayo, listed as a 6-foot-4 and 185-pound senior guard this past season, was brought to Kansas as someone who could bolster its 3-point shooting ability and he delivered. He has the size that can help a team on the perimeter. Playing as many years in college as he did helps with the experience he’ll bring to the next level, too.
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Mayo has already shown he can hold his own, and then some, while making a move from a mid-major program to a high-major one. He also did so, with the weight of expectation that comes from deciding to finish a college career with your hometown school. That the Lawrence native was able to accomplish that, should give a NBA team confidence he can be trusted for a chance.
Cons of Washington picking up Zeke Mayo after 2025 NBA Draft
Although Mayo proved to be a valuable option offensively for Kansas, and should continue to be one at the next level, the heightened athleticism in the NBA will be a challenge he’ll have to grapple with as a professional athlete on the defensive end. He’ll have to prove he can handle those responsibilities. Should he not, the opportunities to be the 3-point shooter he is might not be so constant.
Zeke Mayo’s college stats
Mayo played in 34 games for Kansas, with 32 starts. During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He shot 44.7% from the field, 42.2% from behind the arc and 83.3% from the free-throw line.
March 8, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas; Kansas basketball guard Zeke Mayo (5) reacts after a play against Arizona during a game at Allen Fieldhouse.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Pros, cons as Washington Wizards add Zeke Mayo after 2025 NBA Draft