Credit to: purduesports.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – International standout Omer Mayer (pronunciation: Oh-mer Myer) has signed all the necessary paperwork and will join the Purdue men’s basketball program for the 2025-26 season.
Mayer, a 6-foot, 4-inch, 210-pound guard from Tel Aviv, Israel, becomes the second addition following the completion of the 2024-25 season after South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff joined the team on April 4. Cluff was ranked the No. 1 transfer in the country via the On3 rankings.
Mayer will strengthen an already-strong Purdue perimeter attack, spearheaded by 2024 Cousy Award winner Braden Smith, three-year starter and the Big Ten’s best 3-point shooter Fletcher Loyer, rising sophomores C.J. Cox and Gicarri Harris and freshmen Jack Benter (redshirted last season) and four-star recruit Antione West Jr.
Mayer just wrapped up a season of playing with Maccabi Tel Aviv, being a teammate of former Purdue great Trevion Williams. Just 18 years old playing in arguably the second-best league in the world and Europe’s top professional league, Mayer averaged 2.6 points and 2.0 assists per game, but is coming off an 11-point, three-assist performance against Bayern Munich in his last contest, the same game in which Purdue All-American Carsen Edwards made a EuroLeague record eight 3-pointers with 30 points in a single quarter.
Earlier this month, Mayer traveled to Portland, Oregon, for the prestigious Nike World Hoop Summit. The event brings together 15 of America’s and 15 top international prospects for a week of training, capped off by a game between the two squads. In the final game, Mayer had seven assists in 19 minutes of action.
In 13 Israeli Premier League games, he averaged 5.5 points and 2.1 assists per game.
Mayer also played the 2023-24 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and has been in their program since he was eight years old. During the 2023-24 season, Mayer became the youngest player in club history to score at 17 years old.
He had a dominating performance last summer in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket Championships, averaging 18.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists, including a 16-point, 9-rebound, 8-assist effort against Slovenia in the third-place game. In a quarterfinal win over France, Mayer went for 31 points (6-of-11 from 3-point range) with six rebounds and four assists, then followed that up with another 31-point, 8-assist showing in a semifinal loss to Serbia.
The Boilermakers are ranked in the top three of nearly every “way-too-early” top-25 poll for the upcoming season.
