Gonzaga announces Michael Ajayi for 2024-25 season

Pepperdine transfer is officially set to join the Bulldogs next fall

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs announced Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi will join the men’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season.

“Michael is a great addition,” Mark Few said in a news release. “He is a driven worker with high character, that will be a great fit with our guys.”

Ajayi, a native of Kent, Washington, led the West Coast Conference in scoring last season with 17.1 points to go with 9.9 rebounds per game. He shot 46.7% from the field, including 47% from behind the arc, and earned All-WCC first team honors. The 6-foot-7 wing scored 20 or more points in 11 games and crossed the 30-point mark twice.

Shortly after announcing he would transfer to Gonzaga on March 27, Ajayi entered his name into the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Based on current mock drafts, it’s expected Ajayi will withdraw his name from consideration. Per NCAA rules, any player who’s declared for the draft can withdraw by May 29 to retain eligibility.

If so, the Zags welcome one of the league’s most talented scorers to mesh with an experienced and proven roster. With Anton Watson the lone departure from the rotation this offseason, six of the top seven scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 team are expected to be back in Spokane. Add in a healthy Steele Venters, and many prognosticators view Gonzaga as a preseason top-10 team.

Ajayi burst onto the scene as one of the most skilled scorers in the WCC after shining for two years at Pierce Community College in Puyallup, Washington, where he was named the 2022 Northwest Athletic Conference West Region’s Most Valuable Player and the West Region’s Freshman of the Year. He averaged 20.4 points and 11.3 rebounds. Prior to that, he put up 10.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his lone season of varsity high school basketball at Kentwood (WA).