Ajay Mitchell Details New Role at UC Santa Barbara

This summer, Oklahoma City Thunder rising Star Ajay Mitchell picked up a new role off the court. Fresh off being one of the biggest standouts in the Thunder's playoff run to the Western Conference Finals, before seeing his postseason cut short due to injury as Oklahoma City was ousted by the San Antonio Spurs in seven games, Mitchell agreed to become the new General Manager of his alma mater, UC Santa Barbara.

Mitchell was a three-year starter for UC Santa Barbara, averaging 16.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 stocks (Steals plus blocks) per game on 50% shooting from the floor, 39% shooting from downtown and 85% at the charity stripe while making the NCAA tournament in the 2022-23 campaign.

The guard eventually became a second-round pick for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who used a chain of trades to go get the talented scorer.

At Media Day on Monday, he was asked about his new role off the court. "Santa Barbara is a place that means a lot to me, and I'm just really excited to be able to give back. They believed in me for three years and made me the man I am today. It just felt natural for me to help in any way I could, and really excited to be able to mentor the players, help with recruiting and just help this program grow," Mitchell detailed.

Being a General Manager has to be a fun gig; he has no better mentor in that role than his own General Manager in Oklahoma City, top executive Sam Presti. The two have not talked shop just yet.

"Not yet, but that's a conversation I'll definitely have with him," Mitchell chuckled when asked about picking Presti's brain.

It will be interesting to see what all this entails both now and for Mitchell's eventual post-playing career. Oklahoma City is no stranger to having former players join the front office when that day comes, if that is something the rising star is interested in.

This is not a foreign concept. Even locally, Washington Wizards star Trae Young was named assistant general manager of his alma mater, the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Thunder hope that Mitchell can resume his postseason leap in the 2026-27 regular season. While he is still in contention for the starting lineup, no matter when his name is called, his shot creation for himself and others will continue to provide the team a boost as they try to stake claim to another title.