AYALA'S ACCOLADES
• 2022 John Wooden Award Watch List
• 2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List
• 2021 Baha Mar Bahamas Championship All-Tournament Team
• 2021-22 | Rated No. 22 overall player in country by CBS Sports
• 2021-22 | Rated No. 19 overall guard in country by The Athletic
• 2021-22 | Rated No. 12 overall player in Big Ten by Andy Katz
• 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
• 2021 USBWA All-District Team (District III)
AYALA IN THE NEWS:
• Video Feature (2021) -
Ayala's Path to Maryland
• (2/5/19)
After years of studying Lebron James, Ayala can take over an interview
• (1/31/19)
From latchkey kid to lead guard, Ayala has always been mature for his age
AS A SENIOR (as of March 2): Scored 17, and had 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the second round of the Big-Ten tournament against Michigan State (3/10)... Hit 5 3-pointers and totaled 19 points against Michigan State (3/6)... In his final game at Xfinity Center, Ayala Posted 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in victory against Minnesota (3/2) ... Scored 23 points and matched career-high with three steals vs. #22 Ohio State (2/27) ... Became the fifth player in Maryland history to record 200 3-pointers at Rutgers (1/25), knocking down five 3’s and scoring 22 points ... Posted first career double-double with career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (11) at Northwestern (1/12).
... Scored 19 against Wisconsin (1/9)... Added 16 points career against Illinois (1/6) ... Scored 19 against Iowa (1/3) ... Poured in 22 points and came down with 8 rebounds in win against Brown (12/30) ...
Scored 20 points and notched 2 steals to help defeat Lehigh (12/28) Scored 19 points in win vs. #20 Florida (12/12) ... Posted 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists vs. Richmond (11/25) ... With score tied 67-67, blocked Hofstra’s (11/19) game-winning 3-pt attempt ... Scored 22 points in win vs. Vermont (11/13) ... Scored 1,000th career point in season debut vs. Quinnipiac (11/9)...
AS A JUNIOR (2020-21): Appeared in 29 games (28 starts), leading the team with 15.1 points/g and averaging 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists ... averaged 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in the final four games of the season (all postseason) ... ranked third in Big Ten in free throw percentage (.831) ... poured in 23 points vs. UConn (3/20) in NCAA first round victory.Posted 19 points vs Michigan (3/12) in Big Ten Tournament quarters ... scored 21 points vs. Michigan State (3/11) in Big Ten Tournament second round ... posted 22 points against Michigan State (2/28) on a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line. It was the best Maryland single-game free throw percentage since Len Bias in 1986 ... scored career-high 24 points and matched career-high with seven rebounds vs. Nebraska (2/17) ... matched career-high with 23 points at Penn State (2/5) ... scored 16 points, including the game-winning free throws, and added five assists vs. #24 Wisconsin (2/2) ... scored 21 points at #17 Minnesota (1/23), making a career-high eight field goal attempts and notching three steals ... returned from injury at #7 Michigan (1/19), scoring 12 points ... missed games at #12 Illinois (1/10) and vs. Wingate (1/15) due to a groin injury. He had previously played in all 77 games of his career ... posted 17 points - all in the second half - in a road win at #6 Wisconsin (12/28) ... scored career-high 23 points vs. La Salle (12/22), including shooting 13-of-15 from the free throw line. It was the most free throw attempts for a Terrapin in a game since Melo Trimble (15) vs. Purdue (2/4/17) ... had 15 points and six assists vs. Navy (11/27) ... scored 19 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting (4-4 3pt) in season debut against Old Dominion (11/25).
AS A SOPHOMORE (2019-20): Appeared in all 31 games, making 20 starts, in season cut short (no postseason) due to coronavirus pandemic ... played key role in leading Maryland to 2020 Big Ten Championship ... ranked second on the team with 77 assists ... averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 rebounds ... recorded best game in season finale vs. Michigan (3/8), scoring a season-high 19 points (6-10 FG) and posting a career-high seven rebounds ... scored 16 points at #25 Ohio State (2/23) ... had season-high 16 points, including 4 3-pointers, vs. Nebraska (2/11), and five assists ... scored 12 points and had 5 rebounds at #20 Illinois (2/7) ... matched career-high with 6 rebounds vs. Rutgers (2/4) ... notched season-high 6 assists at Indiana (1/26) ... scored 15 pts at Penn State (12/10) ... had 14 pts and 5 assists vs. Notre Dame (12/4) ... scored 13 pts in back-to-back games vs. Temple (11/28) and Harvard (11/29) ... shot 3-of-5 from 3-pt for 13 pts vs. Fairfield (11/19) ... scored 12 in the season-opener vs. Holy Cross (11/5).
AS A FRESHMAN (2018-19): Started 33 consecutive games after coming off the bench in the season-opener ... Averaged 29.0 mins/g, the 3rd-most on the team ... Ranked second on the team in assists (2.1/g) and fourth in points (8.6g) ... Hit the 5th-most 3-pointers in Maryland freshman history (52) ... Posted 12 points and five rebounds in NCAA Tournament debut vs. Belmont (3/21) ... Scored 12 points, including 7 of 7 shooting at the stripe, vs. Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament (3/14) ... Posted 11 points and four assists at #21 Iowa (2/19) ... Had 15 points, including back-to-back second half 3’s, in win vs. #12 Purdue (2/12) ... Notched 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc at #24 Wisconsin (2/1) ... Posted 14 points against Wisconsin (1/14) ... Scored 11 points while going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc vs. Rutgers (1/5) ... Tallied career-highs in assists (7) and rebounds (6) vs. Loyola Maryland (12/11) ... Scored career-high 20 points on a career-high five made three pointers vs. Marshall (11/23) ... Made first career start vs. Navy (11/9).
BEFORE MARYLAND: Consensus four star recruit… played AAU with Team WeR1…Rated #76 recruit in the country via 247…Rated #7 combo guard nationally via 247…Rated #10 recruit in the state of Florida via 247…Rated #81 nationally via Scout…Rated #7 combo guard in the country via Scout…Rated #2 recruit in the state of Florida via Scout…Rated #91 in the ESPN 100…Rated #22 PG nationally via ESPN…Rated #21 recruit in the East via ESPN…Rated #1 in the state of Florida via ESPN…Rated #68 nationally via Rivals…Averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.3 rebounds/game with WeR1…Led WeR1 to consecutive titles.
PERSONAL: Son of Brandy Truitt ... Chose Maryland over Oregon, Syracuse, Miami and Arizona ... Motto is to be the greatest ... Sports hero is Floyd Mayweather ... Non-sports hero is his mother, Brandy ... Hobbies include collecting movie posters ... Played power forward and center as a kid because of his height - credits it for his ability to finish strong in the paint ... Majoring in family science.
