AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the class of 2025, has committed to BYU. The 6-foot-9 wing announced his decision on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday morning.
“A lot stood out on my visit,” Dybantsa told ESPN. “Obviously, coach Kevin Young is there. My ultimate goal is to get to the NBA. He coached my favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant, and he had high praise about him. On my visit, from head coach all the way down to the analytics guy, analytics guy all the way to the dietician, it’s all NBA staff, even the strength coach. If it’s all NBA [and] I’m trying to get to the NBA, I think it’s going to be the best development program for me.”
Originally in the class of 2026, Dybantsa reclassified to 2025 and remained the nation’s top-rated prospect. He becomes the first five-star recruit to commit to BYU since the ESPN recruiting database began in 2007, choosing the Cougars over Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama. It is a huge win for first-year head coach Kevin Young, who was the associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns before taking over at BYU last spring.
Over the summer, Dybantsa transferred from Prolific Prep to Utah Prep. The do-it-all forward, who described his game as a mix of Tracy McGrady and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on “First Take,” has been dominant throughout his high school career. In 2022-23, he won Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts, averaging 19 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 blocks, while shooting 61 percent from the field and 41 percent from three. That summer, he led the Nike Peach Jam in scoring (25.8 points), despite playing up an age group. At powerhouse Prolific Prep, he put up 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game to lead his team to a top 10 national ranking. He continues to stuff the stat sheet (19.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists) in his senior campaign at Utah Prep.
Dybantsa’s list of accolades includes two gold medals with USA Basketball — at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup.
BYU has already secured commitments from center Xavion Staton, ranked No. 34 in ESPN’s Top 100, and four-star forward Chamberlain Burgess. Dybantsa is expected to spend just one year at the college level before moving on to the NBA, but he has big goals for his freshman campaign.
“Definitely a national championship,” he told ESPN, when asked what he hopes to accomplish next season. “That’s everybody’s goal, but I think with the team that we got coming in, it’s definitely possible. So that’s the main goal.”
