College basketball star Deng Mayar, 22, dies in horrific incident as eye-witness gives account

College basketball player Deng Mayar died in an incident at Blackridge Reservoir in Utah on Saturday.

Mayar, 22, who transferred from North Dakota to Omaha earlier this summer, began struggling in the water alongside a friend, Sa Mafutaga, who managed to reach the shore.

According to FOX 13 Salt Lake City, bystanders jumped into the water and pulled Mafutaga out before he was treated by the Unified Fire Authority.

As reported by ESPN, Mayar went underwater and did not reemerge.

Mayar’s body was recovered by rescue crews on Saturday night after several hours of searching. Mafutaga is currently being treated in hospital and is expected to recover.

Eyewitness, Hudsyn Sandoval, described the incident as scary when giving a statement to FOX.

Sandoval said: “It was scary. We saw the police running past us with a stretcher, and there was a person on there who was really pale and wasn’t moving.”

On Sunday (August 17), the Omaha Mavericks released a statement on their website in tribute to Mayar.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Athletics and our program mourn the tragic passing of Deng Mayar. He was 22 years old.

Full statement at https://t.co/CRqTmeiadl. pic.twitter.com/2le0ackqCM

— Omaha Men’s Basketball (@OmahaMBB) August 17, 2025

"Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng's passing," Omaha men's basketball coach Chris Crutchfield said in the statement.

"After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team, and he made tremendous progress this summer.

"[Mayar] was a joy to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him greatly. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng's family, friends and teammates."

Mayar’s former college, North Dakota, for whom he made a total of 42 appearances and 15 starts, also posted a statement on their website.

“Our hearts are broken to hear the tragic news of Deng's passing," said University of North Dakota’s 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 a kind soul off the court. Deng will be greatly missed by all of those that knew and loved him."

The 22-year-old’s family were present during the search as city officials closed the area near the incident on Sunday to allow investigators to work to piece together what happened.