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Wayne State University Athletics

2025-26 Commissioners Awards

General Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Two Warriors Receive GLIAC Commissioner's Award

Ben Ajmia and Marouf recognized for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.

GLIAC -- Two winter sports standouts from Wayne State University were recognized with GLIAC Commissioner's Awards earlier this month.  Junior swimmer Khalil Ben Ajmia (Tunis, Tunisia) and graduate student fencer Eyad Marouf (Alexandria, Egypt) were honored for outstanding athletic and academic performance.

The selections of Ben Ajmia and Marouf increase the number of WSU student-athletes recognized to 94 since the conference instituted this award for the 2007-08 academic year.  The 94 honorees for WSU is the second most in the conference during the 19-year history of the program.  Marouf becomes the 20th two-time recipient from WSU, while Ajmia's selection increases the men's swimming/diving total to 17, the most of any Warrior program.  Wayne State has had three three-time recipients in Karter Fitzpatrick (baseball), Jordan Fox (women's swimming) and Anais Ruyssen (women's tennis).

Ben Ajmia, the 2026 GLIAC Champion in the 500 free and the runner-up in the 1000 free, competed in five different events at the 2026 NCAA Championships earning Second Team All-America accolades in the 200 free relay, the 200 medley relay and the 1000 free.  He has earned eight All-America certificates in his three years at WSU, including four First Team recognitions (800 free relay in 2025, 1650 free, 1000 free and 500 free in 2024).  The 2024 NCAA Champion in the 1650 free, Ben Ajmia has also garnered All-GLIAC honors [top three in an event] seven times -- 3 GLIAC titles (500 free in 2024 and 2026, and 1650 free in 2024), two second-place finishes (1000 free in 2026, and 800 free relay in 2024) and two third-place finishes (500 free in 2025, and 200 free in 2024).  He was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and GLIAC Swimmer of the Year in 2024.  A multiple-year CSCAA Individual Scholar All-American, Ben Ajmia has also received GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team both years he has been eligible.  He maintains a 3.70 cumulative GPA as a Marketing major within the Mike Ilitch School of Business.  This is his first GLIAC Commissioner's Award.

Marouf, who earned his second GLIAC Commissioner's Award, redshirted a season ago after being recognized in 2024.  A Second Team All-Midwest Region selection (behind two First Team guys from Notre Dame) in 2026, Marouf was a First Team All-CCFC (Central Collegiate Fencing Conference) honoree this year after compiling a 57-29 overall record.  A two-time NCAA Championships qualifier (2023 and 2024), he was a First Team All-American in 2024 after recording a 17-6 mark and advancing to the national semifinals.  Marouf set the WSU career wins record by a sabreist with 339 victories, which is also the most wins by a WSU male fencer in the 86-year history of the sport at WSU.  He was a three-year All-CCFC honoree (First Team in 2022-23 and 2025-26; Second Team in 2021-22), while also garnering All-Midwest Region recognition three times (2021-22; Second Team in 2023-24; Second Team in 2025-26).  Off the strip, Marouf was a four-year GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree, and has twice been a CSC Academic All-District recipient.  He earned his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with a 3.55 cumulative GPA, and maintains a 3.50 GPA while working on a master's degree in Anatomy and Cell Biology.

Criteria:
The nominee must have completed four semesters of full-time enrollment and therefore may not be a true freshman or true sophomore.

The nominee must have attained a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.5, on a 4.0 grading scale.

The nominee must be a starter or key reserve.

The awards are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play.  All grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.
 
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Players Mentioned

Khalil Ben Ajmia

Khalil Ben Ajmia

Distance Free
6' 3"
Junior
Eyad Marouf

Eyad Marouf

Sabre
5' 8"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Khalil Ben Ajmia

Khalil Ben Ajmia

6' 3"
Junior
Distance Free
Eyad Marouf

Eyad Marouf

5' 8"
Graduate Student
Sabre