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Former Pierce Standout Michael Ajayi Named AP All-American Honorable Mention at Butler
Posted: Apr 03, 2026

Former Pierce Standout Michael Ajayi Named AP All-American Honorable Mention at Butler

Former Pierce College standout men's basketball player Michael Ajayi was named an AP All-America honorable mention selection at Butler University. The Associated Press teams were announced Tuesday, March 17.
 
The 61 voters that select the weekly Top 25 for The Associated Press also vote for three All-American teams. Honorable mention recognition is awarded to the next 10 players and ties after the first three All-American teams.

Ajayi played for the Raiders in '21-'22 and '22-'23, and was a dominant force in the NWAC and West Region. In his freshman season, he averaged 20.4 ppg and 11.3 rpg (#2 in the NWAC).  As a sophomore, Ajayi finished third in the NWAC in scoring, 22.7 ppg, and led the NWAC in rebounding, 12.8 rpg.  Michael was named West Region Most Valuable Player as a freshman, and earned First Team West Region All-Star honors in his sophomore season.  He finished his career at Pierce as the programs second leading scorer all-time (605 points), and all-time leading rebounder (1,083 rebounds).  He recorded 37 double-doubles in 50 games, and had single games highs of 40 points vs Highline, and 26 rebounds vs Centralia.

Ajayi was recruited by Lorenzo Romar to Pepperdine University for 2023-24, where he led the West Coast Conference in scoring (17.2 ppg), was second in rebounding (9.9 rpg), and earned All-WCC First Team honors. He transferred to Gonzaga for the '24-'25 season where he averaged 6.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg, good for second for the Zags.

Ajayi was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA and took his tools to Butler University for his final collegiate season. For the Bulldogs, Ajayi returned to elite status, leading the Big East in rebounding (11.1 rpg), and ranked fifth nationally. He also finished fourth in scoring in the Big East (16.4 ppg). He ranked fourth nationally with 19 double-doubles, and set a Butler single season record with 356 rebounds. Ajayi earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors for his outstanding season, before earning Honorable Mention All-American.

The full story from Butler University can be found here: https://butlersports.com/news/2026/3/17/mens-basketball-ajayi-selected-as-ap-all-america-honorable-mention-selection.aspx