Junior college forward Akol Mawein, who signed with the University of Arkansas for the 2021 class, has been given a release from his national letter of intent and will play his college basketball elsewhere.
His lead recruiter, Razorbacks associate head coach David Patrick, resigned his position Tuesday, according to a source. CBS college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein tweeted Tuesday that Patrick has accepted a similar position with the University of Oklahoma under first-year Coach Porter Moser.
With the departure of Mawein and senior forward Abayomi Iyiola announcing on Tuesday that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal, Arkansas has three scholarship spots open.
Mawein, 6-10, 220 pounds, of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, averaged 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season while shooting 48.1% from the floor, 31.3% beyond the three-point line and 70.2% at the free-throw line.
He averaged 13.5 points, 5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a freshman for Navarro while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 32.8% from three-point range and 62.4% from the line.
Before attending Navarro, Mawein played at Southwest Christian Academy in Little Rockfor two seasons. He also played for the Woodz Elite program on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Iyiola, 6-9, 220 pounds, was a part of coach Eric Musselman's first haul of transfers as Arkansas' coach. He along with Connor Vanover and JD Notae and graduate transfers Jimmy Whitt and Jeantal Cylla joined Musselman in his first season in Fayetteville.
He began his career at Stetson under former Arkansas assistant Corey Williams. He led the Hatters in scoring with 10.8 points and in 7.6 rebounds as a sophomore. He also had a team-leading 37 blocked shots.
As a freshman, he averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds a game and was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team.
Iyiola appeared in one game during the 2020-21 season after sitting out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He had ACL surgery last summer after suffering an injury to his right knee during a workout. He began practicing in late December.
He joins forward Ethan Henderson and guard Desi Sills in leaving the program and entering the portal. Henderson landed at Texas A&M, while Sills is at Auburn.