Kansas Star Sends Parting Message After NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Apr 9, 2025 11:38 AM ET

The No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks lost to No. 10 Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite Kansas entering the year as the preseason No. 1 team, the Jayhawks finished with a disappointing 21-13 overall record despite a loaded roster.

Hunter Dickinson returned to Lawrence for the 2024-25 season and got big boosts in the transfer portal with Wisconsin's AJ Storr and South Dakota State's Zeke Mayo.

Still, the Jayhawks did not live up to the hype.

Mayo, who finished his fourth year of college basketball, is moving on after an up-and-down season with Kansas, although he had 18 points and six rebounds in the NCAA Tournament loss to Arkansas.

He finished the season with 14.6 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists, all of which were lower than the previous season, albeit this time was against much tougher competition.

As Mayo leaves Kansas and tries to get into the NBA, he had a parting message on his Instagram account on Tuesday.

"Thank you for everything," Mayo wrote. "It's hard to put into words how much this University has provided me over the last 365 days. I still can't believe I had the opportunity to represent the city I grew up in, playing in front of thousands every night. Your support all season was tremendous even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted."

"As I move on to the next chapter of my life, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for everyone involved here at the University of Kansas," Mayo continued. "The memories we made were something I'll never forget. The name across my chest was more important than anything, and I'll forever be wearing the Crimson & Blue. Rock Chalk for life."

A nice farewell message from Zeke Mayo to Kansas. #kubball pic.twitter.com/iSglS7QJyf
— Shreyas Laddha (@shre98) April 9, 2025

Mayo is headed for the pros and trying to get into the NBA, although he admitted it is a"slim chance," per Jordan Guskey of the Topeka Capital-Journal.

“I’m going to pursue that,” Mayo said. “It’s a slim chance, but, I mean, why not? Definitely going to go through the training process and hopefully work my way up the pedestal a little bit and just kind of draw some attention throughout the summer, work as hard as I can, and, I mean, hopefully achieve my dreams for sure.”

Still, the Lawrence, Kansas native got to play his final year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks, making memories that will last a lifetime.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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