SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – Michael Ajayi, Houston Mallette and
Jevon Porter of the Pepperdine men's basketball team were awarded All-West Coast Conference honors for the 2023-24 season, the league announced Tuesday.
Ajayi earned All-WCC first team status as Mallette and Porter were recognized on the honorable mention squad.
Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) has led the conference in scoring for a majority of the season, pouring in 17.2 points per game while nearly averaging a double-double, gathering 9.5 boards per contest. The junior most recently notched third place on the Pepperdine single-season leaderboard for double-doubles with 15 total– a stat in which he also leads the conference– tying Dana Jones (1993-94) and Stacy Davis (2015-16). To round out his stats, Ajayi sits fourth in the WCC for field goal percentage (.461) and minutes (34.5).
Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) was a staple for the Waves in the regular season, contributing 14.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while dishing out 2.4 assists and averaging .817 from the charity stripe. Among WCC counterparts, the junior sits fifth in scoring, fourth in free-throw percentage, seventh in three-point field goals per game (2.1) and ninth in minutes (31.5).
Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) averaged 15.8 points per game to go with 5.7 boards after missing the first half of the season due to injury. A menace to defend, the sophomore averaged a .428 clip from field goal range helping him to second on the team in scoring.
The full set of awards is as follows:
2023-24 All-WCC Men's Basketball Major Awards
Player of the Year: Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Coach of the Year: Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Defensive Player of the Year: Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Newcomer of the Year: Jonathan Mogbo, San Francisco
Sixth Man of the Year: Deuce Turner, San Diego
Freshman of the Year: Ryan Beasley, San Francisco
2023-24 All-WCC Men's Basketball First Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Michael Ajayi |
Jr. |
G/F |
Pepperdine |
| Adama-Alpha Bal |
Jr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Graham Ike |
Jr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Aidan Mahaney |
So. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Augustas Marciulionis |
Jr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Jonathan Mogbo |
Jr. |
F |
San Francisco |
| Ryan Nembhard |
Jr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Mitchell Saxen |
Sr. |
C |
Saint Mary's |
| Anton Watson |
Gr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Marcus Williams |
Jr. |
G |
San Francisco |
2023-24 All-WCC Men's Basketball Second Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Alex Ducas |
Gr. |
G/F |
Saint Mary's |
| Nolan Hickman |
Jr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Wayne McKinney III |
Jr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Tyler Robertson |
Sr. |
G/F |
Portland |
| Deuce Turner |
Jr. |
G |
San Diego |
2023-24 All-WCC Men's Basketball Freshman Team
| Name |
Pos. |
School |
| Ryan Beasley |
G |
San Francisco |
| Jake Ensminger |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Tyler Harris |
G |
Portland |
| Braden Huff |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Kevin Patton Jr. |
G |
San Diego |
2023-24 WCC Men's Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Joshua Jefferson, Saint Mary's;
Houston Mallette, Pepperdine; Carlos Marshall Jr., Santa Clara; Alex Merkviladze, LMU;
Jevon Porter, Pepperdine; Ndewedo Newbury, San Francisco; Malik Thomas, San Francisco; Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara
UP NEXT
The Waves make the trek to Las Vegas for the opening round of the 2024 Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship against No. 9-seed Pacific Thursday afternoon.
