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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

Top recruit Xather Rathan-Mayes declared ineligible for Florida State

The Seminoles were expecting to lean on top recruit Xather Rathan-Mayes this year but will have to make some other plans real quick.

USA TODAY Sports

Xather Rathan-Mayes, the Florida State Seminoles’ top recruit of 2013, will not be eligible to play this season, ESPN reported on Monday.

Rathan-Mayes, ranked No. 44 by ESPN and No. 30 by Rivals, played at Huntington Prep alongside Andrew Wiggins.

According to CBS Sports, the NCAA didn’t accept a full year of credits Rathan-Mayes took at the Christian Faith Center Academy in North Carolina. According to the Fayetteville Observer, the Fifth Estate, a Canadian news show, detailed the lack of academics at the Christian Faith Center Academy.

Rathan-Mayes committed to Florida State in Oct. 2012, and his friendship with Wiggins is one of the big reasons people speculated Wiggins kept Florida State on his list of schools before ultimately committing to Kansas.

As Tomahawk Nation details, without Rathan-Mayes, the Seminoles only have four guards on scholarship on the roster. Of those four, Ian Miller spent much of last year dealing with injuries.

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