Israeli Basketball Recruit Omer Mayer Announces Commitment

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 4:13 PM ET

The top international prospect in the 2025 college basketball recruiting class has decided on which school he'll be playing for.

18-year-old point guard Omer Mayer has been a starlet for Israel's prestigious Maccabi Tel-Aviv B.C. At the recent FIBA U18 European Championships, he averaged 18.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. While he doesn't have a formal rating from some major recruiting sites, he is widely considered the No. 1 basketball prospect outside of the United States.

On Wednesday, Mayer took to Instagram and announced he has officially chosen the Purdue Boilermakers as his school for the 2025-26 season and beyond.

"Excited for this opportunity! Can’t wait to get going! #boilerup," he wrote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Omer Mayer (@mayer_omer)

Speaking to ESPN, he spoke glowingly of Purdue and said that he hopes to win a title with Purdue.

"I'm excited and thankful for this opportunity," Mayer said. "I've competed at the highest levels in Israel and Europe and can't wait to help Purdue compete for a championship next season."

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - JANUARY 13: The Purdue Logo on a Nike Elite basketball on display during a mens college basketball game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Purdue Boilermakers on January 13, 2024 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Purdue recently reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out at the hands of Houston. Head coach Matt Painter has developed a number of NBA Draft picks and basketball stars.

They will have a chance to run it back next year with First Team All-Big Ten forward and leading scorer Trey Kaufman-Renn along with star guard and third-leading scorer Fletcher Loyer.

Mayer will give the Boilermakers a potential replacement for NBA-bound superstar Braden Smith. Whether he can replicate Smith's production is an entirely different matter.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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