Less than two weeks after adding a Victory Rock Prep (Bradenton, Fla.) graduate to the 2018 class, South Florida head coach Brian Gregory added another one when LSU transfer forward Mayan Kiir committed to the Bulls. He will sit out the 2018-19 season, then have three years of eligibility remaining.
A native of South Sudan, Kiir moved to Australia when he was three years old due to the war. He arrived in the U.S. to enroll at Victory Rock Prep where he played and attended school for four years. A similar path to Madut Akec who signed with USF last week.
“Most people don’t realize that Mayan is very skilled,” Kiir’s high school and AAU coach, Loren Jackson, told Rivals.com when Kiir committed to LSU. “On the AAU circuit, we used him around the rim because he has such good footwork and it is just so hard to stop him. He can go in both directions and his jump shot is getting better by the day. His feel defensively is very good and he took more charges on the adidas Gauntlet circuit than anyone else; he understands what other people are trying to do.”
The 6-foot-9, 229 pound Kiir originally signed to play at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) over offers from Cincinnati, Clemson, Illinois, Louisville, LSU, North Carolina State and UNLV. He requested a release from his national letter of intent after VCU head coach Will Wade left to take the job at LSU. VCU granted the release and Kiir followed his coach to Baton Rouge, La.
When Kiir signed with VCU he was rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.
“We are pleased to welcome Mayan into our program. He will be a tremendous addition to the Bulls’ family,” Gregory said in a statement. “Mayan has great versatility in his game. He can play with power and strength around the basket while being very skilled and explosive from the perimeter. A proven winner with high-level work ethic, Mayan will greatly impact our program.”
Kiir only saw action in eight games at LSU, averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds a game. His best performance came against North Florida when he played 11 minutes, made 3-of-4 field goals (all three free throw attempts) to finish with nine points to go along with four rebounds, an assist and a block.
As a senior at Victory Rock Prep, Kiir averaged 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He shot 54.6 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the free throw line on a team that went 27-8.
Kiir is the third member of the Bulls 2018 recruiting class who graduated from Victory Rock Prep – Akec and Michael Durr are the other two – and he joins point guard Xavier Castañeda of Whitney Young High School in Chicago IL, center Antun Maričević of Casper College and forward Rashun Williams of Calhoun County High School in Edison, GA and Oklahoma State transfer Zack Dawson in USF's 2018 class.
RTB REACTION
This is a big time pick up for USF. RTB has liked Kiir since we first saw him, as a youngster, in 2014 with the Florida Elite 15U team at the Florida Travel Team Jamboree. By the end of his senior year Kiir was the power forward, in his class, in the Sunshine State. During his ‘redshirt’ season on the scout team, Kiir will provide a solid match up challenge for the Bulls’ front court players. Then in the 2019-20 season, Coach Gregory will have the front court talent and depth he has been building toward since arriving in Tampa.
With the all-important July evaluation periods starting in less than 30 days, the Bulls coaching staff can now turn its full attention to the 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes.
