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

Photo of Mak Manciel.
HFC basketball player Mak Manciel, the Player of the Year and HFC's third consecutive All-American, will play basketball for Arkansas State University this fall.

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.