Gonzaga’s Michael Ajayi named to Julius Erving Award watch list

Bulldogs senior joined Duke freshman Cooper Flagg on the watch list for the top small forward in the country award

Cole Forsman | Oct 30, 2024

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

Gonzaga men’s basketball forward Michael Ajayi was named to the 20-player preseason watch list for the 2025 Julius Erving Award, which recognizes the top small forward in college basketball.

Ajayi, who was voted to the preseason All-WCC team by the league’s coaches, led the conference in scoring (17.2 points per game) and was second in rebounds (9.9 per game) with Pepperdine in 2023-24. The 6-foot-7 wing also shot 47.0% from 3-point range in what was his first season of Division-I basketball, as the Kent, Washington, native starred at the JUCO level for two years before emerging onto the scene with the Waves.

From an overlooked high school recruit to an unknown transfer this time a year ago, Ajayi now heads into his final year of eligibility as one of the top players in the country at his position. He joined 19 other players on the Julius Erving watch list, including heralded Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.

The 6-foot-9 preseason All-American and five-star prospect out of Montverde Academy (Florida) was the No. 1 high school player in the 2024 class. Flagg backed up his reputation with some impressive moments throughout USA Basketball’s training camp session this summer in Las Vegas, as the Newport, Maine, native made a few highlight plays against some of the best players from the NBA as they prepared for the Paris Games.

The Zags won’t see the Blue Devils during the regular season, though Mark Few and company could see at least five other candidates on the Julius Erving Award watch list throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

Gonzaga will first see Arizona State’s BJ Freeman, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Milwaukee who averaged 21.1 points as a sophomore last season. Freeman and the Sun Devils visit Spokane on Nov. 10.

The Bulldogs will face another high-level scorer from the mid-major level in 6-foot-7 guard Tucker DeVries, who transferred from Drake to West Virginia this offseason. The Zags face the Mountaineers to tip off the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Nov. 27, before potentially seeing Indiana and Mackenzie Mgbako on day two.

Kentucky, which plays Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle event on Dec. 7, was represented by Jaxson Robinson on the Julius Erving watch list. Robinson familiarized himself with the Bulldogs from his days at BYU when the school was part of the West Coast Conference.

UConn’s Liam McNeely is also in contention for the small forward award as a freshman. The Bulldogs will battle the five-star recruit and the Huskies at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14.

Ajayi is the second Zag to be named to a positional award watch list. Senior guard Ryan Nembhard was named to the Bob Cousy Award (point guard) watch list earlier this week. As with all positional awards, the list of 20 candidates will be trimmed to 10 in late January, before the five finalists are revealed in March.

2025 Bob Cousy Award Candidates
Trey Townsend (Arizona)
BJ Freeman (Arizona State)
Chad Baker-Mazara (Auburn)
Tyson Degenhart (Boise State)
Cooper Flagg (Duke)
Michael Ajayi (Gonzaga)
Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana)
Payton Sandfordt (Iowa)
Milan Momcilovic (Iowa State)
A.J. Storr (Kansas)
Jaxson Robinson (Kentucky)
Matthew Cleveland (Miami)
Frankie Fidler (Michigan State)
Mark Mitchell (Missouri)
Ian Jackson (North Carolina)
Drake Powell (North Carolina)
Ace Bailey (Rutgers)
Arthur Kaluma (Texas)
Liam McNeely (UConn)
Tucker DeVries (West Virginia)