Aday Mara Gómez (born April 7, 2005) is a Spanish

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He previously played for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

Early life

Mara was born and raised in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Spain. His father, Francisco Javier Mara, played basketball professionally for

CB Zaragoza Club Baloncesto Zaragoza is a basketball team based in Zaragoza, Aragón, who played from 1981 to 1996 in the top Spanish league (Liga ACB since 1983) and now plays in the 1ª División, the fifth tier. Most of the years in which the team played ...

from 1986 to 1988. His mother Angélica "Geli" Gómez, played volleyball on the Spain women's national volleyball team. Mara's father and mother stand at and .

Professional career

After Mara began to play basketball for Básket Lupus, he joined Zaragoza Basket's youth categories. He was assigned in the lower tiers with Zaragoza's affiliated team Club Baloncesto El Olivar (

EBA League The Tercera FEB, formerly known as Liga EBA (''Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado''), is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, Primera FEB and Segunda FE ...

). He made his debut in

LEB Oro The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

in the also affiliated team Levitec Huesca in a fixture against Tau Castelló in October 2021. On November 17, 2021, Mara made his debut at age 16 with the first team of

Casademont Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the FIBA Europe Cup. ...

in a

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA Europe's second level competition. Clubs mainly qualify based on their performance in national leagues an ...

fixture against

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

, scoring two points. He played in the

2020–21 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament The 2020–21 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament, also called Adidas Next Generation Tournament by sponsorship reasons, is the 19th edition of the international junior basketball tournament organized by Euroleague Basketball. Teams ...

and averaged 8.5 points, 10.5

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 3.5 blocks over four games. Mara was loaned to

CB Peñas Huesca Club Baloncesto Peñas Huesca is a Spanish professional basketball team based in Huesca, Aragón. The team currently plays in league LEB Plata. History The team played in Liga ACB, where they stayed from 1983 to 1996. After winning the relega ...

at the start of the 2021–2022 season due to a roster shortage at the club. He averaged 2.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks over six games. Mara was then assigned to Anagan Olivar of

Liga EBA The Tercera FEB, formerly known as Liga EBA (''Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado''), is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, Primera FEB and Segunda FEB ...

, the Spanish fourth division, where he averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game. Mara made his

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

debut with Zaragoza on October 16, 2022, chipping in eight points, four rebounds, one assist and one block. He also took part in the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

camp during the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

College career

UCLA

On August 3, 2023, the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) announced Mara's signing to play

in the United States for the

Bruins Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, K ...

. He was rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 15 overall prospect in the 2023 class by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. Casademont Zaragoza contested his move, stating that "contracts must be respected" and warning that they would "take the necessary measures to keep it that way". The dispute led to potential

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility issues for Mara, before he was cleared to play for UCLA three days before the start of the 2023–24 season. He was a part-time starter during the season. In 2024–25, Mara came almost entirely off the bench, but became a major part of the rotation after a breakout game against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in late January 2025. He scored a career-high 22 points in an 85–83 upset win over the No. 18 Badgers, halting their winning streak at seven. He shot seven-for-seven and added five rebounds, including four offensive, and had two blocks in a then-season-high 21 minutes. Mara followed up with 12 points and seven rebounds along with career highs of 30 minutes and five blocks in a win over

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. His 51 minutes in two games bested his usage in the prior eight contests. In the following game against

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

with Tyler Bilodeau out injured, Mara made his only start of the season and recorded his first career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

with 12 points and 11 rebounds along with five blocks again against UCLA's crosstown rivals. In the 2025 NCAA tournament, he had 10 points, six rebounds, five blocks and two assists in 20 minutes in a 72–47 first-round win over Utah State. He ended the season averaging 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 13.1 minutes. Following his sophomore season, he entered the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

Michigan

On April 11, 2025, Mara transferred to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to play for head coach

Dusty May Dusty Allan May (born December 30, 1976) is an American college basketball coach, currently the Wolverines men's basketball head coach at the University of Michigan. He was the head coach for Florida Atlantic University from 2018 to 2024, leadi ...

and the

Wolverines The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine ...

National team career

Mara played for the Spanish national team at the

2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Baloncesto FIBA Sub-17 2022) was the seventh edition of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by t ...

. He averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as Spain advanced to the final before losing to the United States.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 28 , , 8 , , 9.5 , , .442 , , – , , .700 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.7 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 1 , , 13.1 , , .590 , , – , , .577 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.6 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"
Career
, 61 , , 9 , , 11.5 , , .535 , , – , , .614 , , 3.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 5.0

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mara, Aday 2005 births Living people Basket Zaragoza players CB Peñas Huesca players Centers (basketball) Spanish expatriate basketball people in the United States Spanish men's basketball players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen