NEW YORK -- Butler's Michael Ajayi - named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday - was honored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as one of its five Oscar Roberson National Players of the Week.

Each Tuesday during the regular season, the USBWA will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.

Ajayi helped lead Butler to a 2-0 record this past week, as the Bulldogs captured both games in the Greenbriar Tip-Off Classic.  He averaged 16.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 assists per game over the two-game span.  Against South Carolina on Nov. 21, Ajayi had 15 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.  Last time out against Virginia, the graduate student tallied 17 points, 14 boards, and three blocks.

Through six games for Butler, Ajayi has tallied six straight double-doubles - second-most nationally among all Division I players.  He leads the nation at 9.5 defensive rebounds per game and his rebounding average of 12.5 caroms per game is fifth in the country. 

For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.