Aday Mara

Men's Basketball vs. Wake Forest at Little Caesars Arena

Class:
Junior
Position:
C
Height:
7-3
Weight:
255
Hometown:
Zaragoza, Spain
High School:
IES El Picarral

Pronunciations
First Name: "uh-dye"
Last Name: "MAR-uh"

Who is Aday Mara?
• Skilled big man with a large impact on both ends of the floor
• Height and length give him a significant advantage in the paint
• Finishes around the basket, especially on dump-off passes and putbacks
• Strong rebounder, both offensively and defensively
• Play is instrumental in helping with the team's offensive and defensive flow
• Shot blocker, presence alters shots and impacts the opponent's offensive flow
• Great court vision and passing instincts
• Working on strength, defending on the perimeter
• International experience with Spain's National Team

Career: Michigan
• Member of the 2026 National Championship Team
   • Defeated No. 2-seed Connecticut (69-63) to claim Michigan’s second national title
• Helped Michigan to a program-best 37-3 record
• Helped U-M advance to the 2026 Final Four (Indianapolis)
   • Defeated No. 1-seed Arizona in the semifinal, 91-73
• Helped U-M to NCAA Tournament (2026)
   • Awarded No. 3 overall seed, No. 1-seed in Midwest Regional
   • Defeated No. 16-seed Howard (101-80) in first round
   • Defeated No. 9-seed Saint Louis (95-72) to advance to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances
   • Defeated No. 4-seed Alabama (90-77) in Sweet 16
   • Defeated No. 6-seed Tennessee (95-62) in the Elite Eight, advancing to the Final Four
• Helped Michigan to an outright Big Ten regular-season title (2025-26)
   • U-M’s first regular-season title since 2020-21
   • Helped Michigan to a program and Big Ten-best 19-1 conference record

Honors & Awards
• 2026 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
• All-Big Ten, third team (2026, coaches and media)
• All-Big Ten Defensive Team (2026)

Season: 2025-26 (Michigan)
• Portal transfer from UCLA
• Played in 40 games, with 39 starts
• Averaged a career-high 12.1 points per game
   • One of four Wolverines that averaged 10-plus points
   • Had 28 games of double-digit scoring, with three of 20-plus
   • Scored a career-high 26 points in the Final Four vs. Arizona (April 4)
• Shot a team-high 66.8 percent (201-for-301) from the field
   • First on U-M in made field goals
   • Had 19 games of five-plus field goals, with three of 10-plus
   • Made a career-high 11 field goals on 16 attempts (68.8 percent) twice:
       • at Ohio State (Feb. 8)
       • vs. Arizona
• Made first career three-pointer at Ohio State
   • Shot 2-for-3 from beyond the arc
• Averaged 6.8 rebounds per game
   • Posted six games of 10-plus rebounds and 33 games of five-plus
       • 12: vs. Oakland (Nov. 3)
       • 13: vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 11)
       • 10: vs. Middle Tennessee (Nov. 19)
       • 11: vs. Rutgers (Dec. 6)
       • 10: vs. La Salle (Dec. 21)
       • 11: at Purdue (Feb. 17)
   • Grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds vs. Wake Forest
• Had five double-doubles (point-rebound)
   • 12 points, 12 rebounds; vs. Oakland
   • 18 points, 13 rebounds; vs. Wake Forest
   • 10 points, 10 rebounds; vs. Middle Tennessee
   • 14 points, 10 rebounds; vs. La Salle
   • 10 points, 11 rebounds; at Purdue
• Averaged a team-best 2.6 blocks per game
   • Led the Big Ten in blocks per game and total blocks (103)
       • First player in Michigan history to eclipse 100 blocks
   • Finished sixth in the nation in blocks per game and third in total blocks
   • Only Wolverine to record a block in each game
   • Has 18 games of three-plus blocks, with three of five-plus
   • Recorded a career-best six blocks against Penn State (Feb. 5)
• Averaged 2.4 assists per game
   • Had 14 games of three-plus assists, with five of five-plus
   • Recorded a career-high seven assists at Northwestern (Feb. 11)
• Had 14 steals
   • Registered a career-high three steals vs. Southern California (Jan. 2)
• Averaged 23.4 minutes per game
   • Played a career-high 37 minutes vs. Wake Forest (OT)

Season: 2024-25 (UCLA)
• Played in 33 games, all off the bench
• Averaged 6.4 points per game
   • Recorded first 200-plus point season (211)
   • Posted nine double-figure games, with one of 20-plus
   • Scored a season-high 22 points against Wisconsin (Jan. 21)
       • Finished 7-for-7 (FG) and 8-for-12 (FT)
• Averaged 4.0 rebounds per game
   • Posted 15 games of five-plus rebounds, with three of 10-plus
   • Grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds at USC (Jan. 27)
   • Had two additional 10-plus rebound games:
       • 10: at Northwestern (March 3)
       • 10: against Prairie View (Dec. 17)
• Posted two double-doubles (point-rebound)
   • 12 points, 11 rebounds: at USC
   • 11 points, 10 rebounds: at Northwestern
• Averaged a team-best 1.6 blocks per game
   • Recorded first career 50-plus block season (53)
   • Had a season-high five blocks (3x): Utah State (March 20), at USC and at Washington
• Shot 59.0 percent from the field (85-for-144)
   • Posted six games of five-plus field goals
   • Made a season-high seven (2x): Wisconsin and Lehigh (Nov. 15)
• Averaged 1.0 assists per game
   • Had a season-high five assists (5x)
• Averaged 13.1 minutes per game
   • Posted 22 games of 10-plus minutes, eight of 20-plus and one 30-plus
   • Played a season-high 30 minutes at Washington (Jan. 24)

Season: 2023-24 (UCLA)
• Played in 28 games, with eight starts
   • Made collegiate debut against Saint Francis, Pa. (Nov. 6): two points, an assist and blocks
   • Made first career start against LIU (Nov. 15): 14 points, four rebounds and four blocks
• Averaged 3.5 points per game
   • Posted two double-figure games
   • Scored a season-high 14 points against LIU
• Averaged 1.9 rebounds per game
   • Posted seven games of four-plus assists, with one of 10-plus
   • Grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds vs Chaminade (Nov. 21)
• Had 20 blocks
   • Had a season-high four blocks against LIU
• Had 15 assists and two steals
• Averaged 9.6 minutes per game
   • Posted 11 games of 10-plus minutes, with three of 20-plus
   • Played a season-high 25 minutes (2x): at Villanova (Dec. 9), UC Riverside (Nov. 30)

Career: International
• Plays with Spain's National Team
• 2024 U20 EuroBasket (Poland): helped Spain to a seventh-place finish
   • In seven games, averaged 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks
   • Highlighted group phase:
       • Eight points, four rebounds and a block vs. North Macedonia
       • Seven points, five rebounds and two assists vs. Belgium
   • Round of 16 vs. Montenegro (W, 80-45): eight points, six rebounds and six blocks
   • Quarterfinal vs. France (L, 74-72): 12 points, nine rebounds and a block
   • Semifinal vs. Lithuania (L, 82-73): six points and four rebounds
   • Championship vs. Poland (W, 107-80): 13 points, five rebounds and a block
• 2023 U18 European Championship (Serbia): helped Spain to silver medal
   • In seven games, averaged 14.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.7 blocks
   • Highlighted group phase:
       • 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks vs. Italy,
       • 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks vs. Denmark
       • 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks vs. Greece
   • Round 16 vs. Czech Republic (W, 77-64): 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks
   • Quarterfinal vs. Turkey (W, 75-67): 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five blocks
   • Semifinal vs. France (W, 70-58): nine points, 13 rebounds and three assists
   • Championship vs. Serbia (L, 81-71): 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block
• 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup (Spain): helped Spain to silver medal
   • In seven games, averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocks
   • Highlighted group phase:
       • 15 points, six rebounds, two assists vs. Lithuania
       • Nine points and six rebounds vs. Dominican Republic
   • Round of 16 vs. Canada (W, 87-63): 14 points, five rebounds and five blocks
   • Quarterfinal vs. Australia (W, 70-68): 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks
   • Semifinal vs. France (W, 68-53): 16 points and six rebounds
   • Championship vs. United States (L, 79-67): 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five blocks

Notes
• Son of Gely Gomez and Javier Mara
   • Father is from Zaragoza and mother is from Tenerife