Travis Cortez Mays (born June 19, 1968) is an American women's basketball coach and former professional player who was the women's head coach for Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2016 until 2021.^[1][2] Mays was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the first round (14th overall pick) of the 1990 NBA draft. Born in Ocala, Florida, he played basketball for Vanguard High School before enrolling at the University of Texas to compete for the Longhorns. After his time in the NBA, Mays played professional basketball in several leagues in Europe.^[3]

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Travis Mays

Personal information
Born	(1968-06-19) June 19, 1968 (age 55) Ocala, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Vanguard (Ocala, Florida)
College	Texas (1986–1990)
NBA draft	1990: 1st round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career	1990–2002
Position	Shooting guard
Number	1
Coaching career	2002–present
Career history
As player:
1990–1991	Sacramento Kings
1991–1993	Atlanta Hawks
1993	Rochester Renegade
1994–1995	Panionios
1995–1996	Ironi Ramat Gan
1996–1997	Tuborg Pilsener
1998–1999	Mabo Pistoia
1999–2002	Mens Sana 1871 Basket
As coach:
2002–2003	San Antonio Silver Stars (assistant)
2004–2007	Texas (assistant)
2007–2011	LSU (assistant)
2011–2012	Georgia (assistant)
2012–2016	Texas (associate HC)
2016–2021	SMU
Career highlights and awards
As player: NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1991) Greek League All-Star (1994 II) Greek All-Star Game 3-Point Shootout Champion (1994 II) 2× SWC Player of the Year (1989, 1990) 3× First-team All-SWC (1988–1990)
Career NBA statistics
Points	1,273 (11.1 ppg)
Rebounds	233 (2.0 rpg)
Assists	326 (2.8 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball Representing  United States Summer Universiade 1989 Duisburg National team

Close

Mays went to Vanguard High School where he was a scholastic All-America standout, and he then proceeded to play basketball for the University of Texas. Mays and teammates Lance Blanks and Joey Wright were known as the "BMW – The Ultimate Scoring Machine" during the 1989–90 basketball season.^[4] That Longhorn team advanced to the Elite Eight in the 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Mays ranks second in UT men's basketball all-time scoring (2,279 points) and also is second in Southwest Conference all-time scoring.^[3] He was the first player to earn back-to-back SWC Player of the Year honors.^[3] Mays' career scoring average was 18.4 points per game.^[5] He scored in double-figures in 100 of 124 career games^[6] and was the only UT men's player in history to score more than 700 points in a season at the end of his Longhorn career, having scored 743 points as a junior and 772 as a senior.^[7] His single-season scoring record has subsequently been broken by Kevin Durant. In the 1989–90 season that ended in the Elite Eight, Mays had a scoring average of 24.1 points per game as a senior.^[5] In 2002, he was inducted into the UT Men's Athletics Hall of Honor.^[6]

Mays was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 14th pick of the 1990 NBA draft.^[8] During his rookie campaign for the Kings, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, averaging 14.3 points per game in 64 games.^[9][10] He spent the next two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, where two games into his second season, he ruptured both tendons in his right ankle and was out for the remainder of the season. He returned for his final NBA season the next year. Mays had an NBA career scoring average of 11.1 points per game.^[10]

Mays' professional career extended to European and international basketball, as he played in Greece, Israel, Turkey, and Italy. In 1994 Mays signed with Greek club Panionios BC, where he would spend the entire season.^[11] In the Greek League, Mays averaged 23.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.^[11] Highlights of his European career include his selection to the European All-Star Game, leading Panionios to the European Championship final eight with 27.5 points per game, and a First Team All-Star selection (1999–2001) on Italy's Siena squad. He retired as a player in 2002.

Mays spent the 2002–04 seasons coaching and scouting as an assistant coach for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars franchise.^[3] He also coached AAU boys' basketball for the Tennessee/Alabama "Pump" team in the summer of 2003. From 2004 to 2007, he returned to his alma mater and served as an assistant coach under Jody Conradt for the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team. Mays' primary duties were working with UT's guard play and recruiting. He was instrumental in signing, among others, Erika Arriaran, Crystal Boyd, Earnesia Williams, and Brittainey Raven.

After Conradt retired, Mays worked in the same capacity with the Louisiana State University women's team from 2007 to 2011.^[3] He then spent one year as an assistant coach for the University of Georgia women's basketball team. From 2012 to 2016, he returned again to UT as the associate head coach under new head coach Karen Aston.^[3] In 2016, he became the head coach at SMU.^[1][12] He was let go on March 8, 2021 after 5 seasons at SMU.^[2]

Mays earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from UT in 1990.^[9] He received Italian citizenship through his wife Mirella, herself of Italian ancestry.^[13]