Player of the Year Manciel earns scholarship to play at Arkansas State

HFC basketball player Mak Manciel – the National Junior College Athletic Association First Team All-American and Player of the Year – has announced that he will transfer to Arkansas State University this fall, where he will continue his college basketball career on a full-ride athletic scholarship.

“I had a few offers from other universities and visited some of their campuses. The energy at Arkansas State was so different. It felt like I belonged there. I went home, thought about it, prayed about it, and I felt led to go there. My family has backed me up. This is the right decision,” said Manciel, of Sterling Heights, a guard for the Hawks, who recently signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Arkansas State during the 2022-23 season.

“I’m well prepared -- I’m ready now”

The 2021 alumnus of Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights was also an All-Region, All-Conference, First Team All-Conference, All-Defensive Team, All-Freshman Team, and Freshman of the Year at HFC, which he attended on a full-ride athletic scholarship. At HFC, he has been taking general studies courses. He will major in sports management at A-State.

While he looks forward to attending and playing ball for Arkansas State this fall, he will miss his teammates at HFC.

“HFC definitely prepared me for this – from schoolwork to the everyday grind of basketball,” said Manciel. “I’m more prepared now than I would’ve been out of high school. I’m ready now. Attending HFC was definitely a step in the right direction.”

HFC is proud of you, Mak! Great things ahead!

Other HFC basketball news

HFC alumnus Leon Ayers – who first transferred to UW-Milwaukee, then went on to play for Mercer University in Georgia and Duquesne University in Pennsylvania – will transfer to Bowling Green State University, a Division I Mid-American Conference university in Bowling Green, Ohio.