GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The University of North Dakota mourns the loss of former UND student-athlete Deng Mayar, who passed away on Saturday, August 16, 2025. He was 22.
Mayar was a member of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 UND men’s basketball teams and was preparing to play for the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the upcoming season.
As a member of the North Dakota men’s basketball program, Mayar appeared in 42 games and averaged 5.7 points per game to help lead the Fighting Hawks to an appearance in the Summit League Tournament Semifinals in 2024-25.
“Our hearts are broken to hear the tragic news of Deng’s passing,” said UND head men’s basketball coach Paul Sather. “He was a wonderful person with a heart the size of a gym. 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.”
Mayar was from Salt Lake City, Utah, and before playing for UND, he was a member of the Howard Junior College men’s basketball team.
UND extends its deepest condolences to Deng’s family, teammates, friends and classmates. They are all in our thoughts and prayers.
The loss of someone we cared about affects us all, and we have a number of resources available to both our on-campus and online students, which are listed below:
University Counseling Center staff members are available to offer support to students who would like counseling assistance any time Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Please call 701.777.2127 to schedule an appointment. After hours, 24/7 First Link support is available and can be reached by dialing 211 or calling 701.235.7335.
Faculty and staff can also consult UND’s Employee Assistance Program, thevillagefamily.org.
We hope everyone will take some time to remember Deng and the positive impact he had on those who knew him.
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