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The short and injury-plagued career of Lat Mayen is over at TCU before it ever truly began.
According to sources, Mayen - who is no longer listed on the TCU Basketball roster - has left Jamie Dixon’s program to pursue other options, either transferring to another school or turning pro.
The cousin of former Frog Kouat Noi, Mayen - who was the number one rated prospect in Australia - signed with TCU as a member of the class of 2017. The 6’9” forward was known for his shooting ability and rebounding, but never had the chance to show off his skills in Fort Worth. After redshirting as a freshman, Mayen played in just 17 games a season ago, recording ten minutes or more in just four of them. He had a season high in points, minutes, and rebounds in a win over West Virginia, when he went for 12 and six in 26 minutes of action. Ultimately, he averaged just 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds in around eight minutes per game.
Mayen was one of three players of Sudanese descent on the TCU roster, along with his cousins Noi and Yuat Alok. Alok left the Frogs in January, eventually transferring to UCF, while Noi elected to turn pro after his redshirt sophomore season, signing a six-figure deal with an NBL team in Australia this summer.
In all, Jamie Dixon has seen six players transfer since arriving in Fort Worth; Mayen joins Alok, Kaden Archie (UTEP), Angus McWilliam (UC Riverside), Kendric Davis (SMU), and Jaylen Fisher (GCU), in leaving the program in the last seven months. Each player, outside of Davis, dealt with injuries prior to departing the program.
With Mayen’s move, TCU has gotten their roster down to 15 players, the number they needed to hit prior to the season. Transfers Jaedon LeDee and Kevin Easley, Jr will be required to sit out this season due to NCAA rules, leaving the Frogs with five true freshmen, three sophomores, one senior, and two graduate transfer seniors on scholarship. Walk-ons Owen Aschieris and Dylan Arnette appear primed to retain their spots on the roster as well.
It’s a very young, albeit very talented team, that will have a clear goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in Dixon’s four year run in Fort Worth.