Gonzaga transfer guard Michael Ajayi commits to Butler

Former Gonzaga guard Michael Ajayi has committed to Butler, via the NCAA Transfer Portal, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He only spent one season at Gonzaga after transferring this past offseason from Pepperdine.

Ajayi played in all 34 of Gonzaga’s games and made 13 starts. He averaged 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game. He shot 44.6% from the field and 18.2% from beyond the arc.

Ajayi’s statistics were down significantly from his debut season at Pepperdine, where he averaged a conference-high 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Additionally, Ajayi was extremely efficient, shooting 46.7% from the field and 47.0% from beyond the arc on 2.5 attempts per game.

Ajayi had his best showing of this season in Gonzaga’s 105-62 blowout win over Portland. In the victory, the 6-foot-7 guard tallied 20 points and eight rebounds on 7-10 shooting from the floor. While Ajayi first gained nationwide attention at Pepperdine, it isn’t where his career began. Ajayi played his first two collegiate seasons at Pierce Community College in Washington.

He averaged a double-double at Pierce and was named the Northwest Athletic Conference West Region’s Most Valuable Player and the West Region’s Freshman of the Year. Alas, he still wasn’t hearing from any Division I program.

That all changed when Ajayi happened to play against former NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas at a local gym. Thomas was impressed by Ajayi and connected him with then-Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar. Romar had been Thomas’ head coach at Washington.

Michael Ajayi played high school basketball at Kentwood (WA), where he was an unranked prospect, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Ajayi was a late bloomer and didn’t make the varsity team at Kentwood until his season year.

Ajayi is the third player Butler has added through the transfer portal this offseason. He is joined by shooting guard Yame Butler (Drexel) and point guard Jalen Jackson (Purdue University Fort Wayne).

Butler’s 2024-25 season didn’t go according to plan. The team finished the year with a 15-20 overall record and a 6-14 mark in conference play. Next season will be head coach Thad Matta‘s fourth at the helm of the program.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.