Kansas guard Zeke Mayo (5) pulls up for a three during NCAA Tournament practices on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI. Photo by Nick Krug

Lawrence native and former Kansas guard Zeke Mayo received a significant opportunity over the weekend to bolster his professional prospects ahead of the pre-draft process.

Mayo played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a multi-day showcase for outgoing college basketball seniors, and averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in three games playing for Portsmouth Partnership.

Mayo shot 50% from the field overall as well as 50% from beyond the arc, continuing the run of hot shooting that helped propel the KU men’s basketball team to several key late-season victories.

He improved over the course of his three games at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, and posted his best performance in a 77-74 victory over Portsmouth Sports Club on Saturday night, when he scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting with four 3s. Portsmouth Partnership went 2-1 in the tournament overall.

Mayo crossed paths with plenty of familiar foes over the course of the event. In his first game against Norfolk Sports Club, he took on former Missouri guard Tamar Bates, a Kansas City, Kansas native who was once Mayo’s AAU teammate. Portsmouth Partnership’s roster also included a Kansas State representative in David N’Guessan, and on opposing teams Mayo encountered players like Arkansas’ Jonas Aidoo, who played a big role in eliminating KU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and Texas Tech’s Chance McMillian.

Founded in 1953, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament has featured many prominent players over the years, including the likes of Earl Monroe and Scottie Pippen. Jimmy Butler, currently of the Golden State Warriors, is one more recent success story to come out of the event.

Mayo spent three seasons at South Dakota State before transferring to KU, where he scored 14.6 points per game and shot 42.2% from deep as the Jayhawks’ most successful transfer addition of the 2024 offseason. He was not listed on ESPN’s most recent accounting of its top 100 NBA Draft prospects.