Former Kansas Jayhawks basketball guard Zeke Mayo signs 1st pro contract: details
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Zeke Mayo signed with Ironi Kiryat Ata to begin his professional career in Israel.
- Mayo played in NBA Summer League and for KU’s TBT alumni team before signing.
- Mayo averaged 14.6 points for KU in 2024 after transferring from South Dakota State.
Former Kansas and South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo has signed to play pro basketball for Ironi Kiryat Ata in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
The announcement was made by the coach of the team in Israel.
“We’ve been following Zeke since the beginning of the summer,” coach Eldad Bentov said in a statement, “and he was our first option in the guard positions. Zeke will help us a lot and I’m sure he’ll integrate quickly into basketball in Israel despite his young age.”
Mayo, 22, most recently started all three games plus an exhibition game for KU’s alumni team in the TBT. That team, called JHX Hoops, won three of its four contests.
That followed a stint in which he played limited minutes in two of four NBA summer league games with the Washington Wizards.
Mayo’s agency, ADS Sports Management, confirmed Mayo’s overseas signing.
“Congrats Zeke, very happy for you and long, successful pro career ahead!” the agency posted on Instagram.
Mayo, a 6-foot-4, 22-year-old graduate of Lawrence High, was so eager to join KU’s alumni team that he skipped the Wizards’ consolation-round summer league contest in Las Vegas to return to Kansas.
He boarded a flight from Vegas to KCI early July 17, just a few hours after playing 11 minutes but failing to score in a 10-point loss to the Utah Jazz.
He made it to UMKC’s Swinney Center in time to score 12 points in KU’s 78-72 TBT exhibition victory over Kansas State’s alumni team.
“Honestly I just want to represent Kansas. It’s where I come from,” Mayo said. “Anytime you get the opportunity to put this jersey on, it feels good. I just want to play for the name on the front. It doesn’t matter what my individual statistics were. I want to come out here and win.”
Mayo’s free throw gave KU its Elam Ending target score of 78 and ended that exhibition game against Kansas State.
He played in two of the Wizards’ first four games in Vegas, failing to score a point in 17 minutes. He was 0-for-1 from the field and 0-for-1 from the line with two rebounds and one assist.
“I had fun,” Mayo said. “It was a great opportunity to get out there. I kind of had some ups and downs with it being my first experience, obviously.
“But, you know, I had a lot of fun, a great experience with a new group of people. And just to have that opportunity to get out there in front of the NBA executives, it was fun.”
Mayo was asked about his future after one of KU’s TBT games.
“I’m weighing options, looking at overseas right now,” he said then. “I’m going to take my time with that, obviously, and hopefully make a decision soon. Anytime you get an opportunity to play, you’ve got to weigh your options. I’m open to anything, everything.”
Mayo averaged 14.6 points a game on 44.7% shooting for KU last season. He averaged 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He hit 42.2% of his 3-point attempts. At South Dakota State he averaged 18.8 points per game in 2023-24, 18.2 points in 2022-23 and 9.6 points as a freshman.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Former Kansas Jayhawks basketball guard Zeke Mayo signs 1st pro contract: details."
