Forward Michael Ajayi Enters Transfer Portal After One Season at Gonzaga

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andy Patton | Last updated Mar 27, 2025 3:36 PM ET

For the third day in a row the Gonzaga Bulldogs lost someone to the NCAA transfer portal, with ESPN's Jonathan Givony reporting that forward Michael Ajayi has followed in the footsteps of Dusty Stromer and Jun Seok Yeo by putting his name in the portal, just three days after it opened on March 24.

The 6'8 forward will have one year of eligibility remaining after receiving an additional year when the NCAA made a ruling in December that any player in their final year of eligibility, who previously played at the junior college level, would be granted one more year - stemming from a lawsuit filed by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

NEWS: Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi -- the WCC's leading scorer and an All-Conference 1st Team member in 2024 -- will enter the transfer portal, CAA Basketball's NIL Division told ESPN. Ajayi averaged 17.5 points, 10.2 rebounds per game, shooting 47% for 3, at Pepperdine in 2023-24. pic.twitter.com/I5jWqwzqio
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 27, 2025

Ajayi's first year of Division 1 basketball came in 2023-24 when he joined the Pepperdine Waves after coach Lorenzo Romar discovered him playing junior college ball in Kent, Washington.

Ajayi blossomed into a star for the Waves, leading the WCC with 17.2 points per game while averaging 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and shooting 47% from three. He declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal, ultimately committing to Gonzaga and dropping out of the draft process.

Unfortunately, Ajayi's year in Spokane did not go according to plan. The senior forward struggled to adjust to Gonzaga's offense, and the strong outside shooting from his first season at Pepperdine completely vanished with the Zags.

He finished the year averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game, shooting an improved 53.4% on two pointers but just 18.2% from beyond the arc, which included going 0-11 over his final 13 games.

Now Ajayi will look for a new home for his final season of eligibility, hoping to boost back up his NBA draft stock after a disappointing season.

For Gonzaga, it leaves just eight scholarship players currently on the roster heading into next year: Graham Ike, Braden Huff, Ismaila Diagne, Emmanuel Innocenti, Steele Venters, Jalen Warley, Braeden Smith, and incoming freshman Davis Fogle.

The program is known to be in contact with multiple players in the transfer portal, including guards Donovan Dent and Treysen Eaglestaff, and will likely pursue multiple forwards as well.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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