It's a historic day for basketball at BYU.
Consensus No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa has signed to play for the Cougars , after announcing his decision to play for BYU basketball Tuesday in an appearance on ESPN's "First Take."
He pledged to Kevin Young's program over fellow finalists Alabama, Kansas and North Carolina.
"Obviously with Coach Kevin Young there, my ultimate goal is to get to the NBA, and he coached my all-time favorite player Kevin Durant and had high praise about him," Dybantsa said. "I went on my visit, and the head coach down to the analytics guy, then the analytics guy all the way down to the dietician is all NBA staff, even the strength guy. If it's all NBA, and I'm trying to get to the NBA, I think it's going to be the best development for me."
247 Sports rates Dybantsa as a 5-star talent and the top overall prospect in the class of 2025, holding a perfect 1.0000 composite score. Many industry experts and analysts project him to be the No. 1 selection in the 2026 NBA Draft as a potential franchise cornerstone.
"Dybantsa possesses a lethal pull-up game with a high release and a smooth ball rotation," wrote 247 Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein . "He's been a celebrated prospect since before he entered high school. Yet he has avoided the pitfalls of early stardom by consistently improving his game at each level.
"... The bottom line is this: Dybantsa controls his own future. If he continues on his current path, then there's no one in high school basketball with more potential than him."
Dybantsa, who is originally from Massachusetts but is playing his senior year of high school basketball at Utah Prep in Hurricane, has been tied to BYU since Young's hiring as head coach this past April. He has made several visits to Provo, including an official campus visit in October and most recently being seen at the Marriott Center attending the Cougars' game against Idaho on Nov. 16.
"We're so excited to welcome AJ and his family to BYU," Young said in a statement . "We've been able to build a great relationship with him and his family and can't wait to have them all in BYU blue. AJ is a generational talent. He's a great young man who has a strong appetite to be the best player he can be. His versatile skill set and playmaking will seamlessly fit into our style of play. This is a great day for BYU basketball."
Not only is Dybantsa the highest-rated signee in BYU history, but he is believed to be the type of program-altering player that can change the trajectory of Cougar basketball under Young for years to come.
"Dybantsa has NBA positional size and talent," wrote Paul Biancardi of ESPN . "He can finish, score, serve as a playmaker and he has a future as a switchable defender with rebounding and shot-blocking ability. He can also dominate games, produce in non-scoring areas and he understands when to defer and create for others. (He is) on pace to go No. 1 in the 2026 NBA draft."
