BYU AD Brian Santiago Excited For BYU Basketball & AJ Dybantsa
Jul 8, 2025, 3:07 PM | Updated: Jul 9, 2025, 10:09 am
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 12: AJ Dybantsa #7 of Team USA dunks as Dame Sarr (R) #2 of Team World looks on during the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit at Moda Center on April 12, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
(Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
FRISCO, Texas – BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago is tempering his excitement while watching AJ Dybantsa and the Cougar men’s basketball team prepare for the 2025-26 season.
Santiago joined KSL Sports Zone to discuss Dybantsa and the excitement surrounding the Cougars’ skyrocketing hoops program.
“The first thing I’m going to say about AJ Dybantsa is Kevin Young,” Santiago said of BYU’s top-ranked recruit in program history. “AJ Dybantsa chose BYU because Kevin Young chose BYU.”
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The 6’9 forward alone will draw the type of media hype the Cougar basketball team has never seen.
Santiago has already been impressed by his glimpses of the team.
“Watching this guy play basketball is an absolute sheer joy,” Santiago beamed.
“He is so good because he makes everybody else great on the floor.”
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Dybantsa joins a roster that returns First-Team All-Big 12 honoree Richie Saunders and will feature former five-star guard Robert Wright III after transferring from Baylor.
” I saw him on seven straight possessions in a highly intense scrimmage, get to the middle of the floor and kick for wide open threes, and all seven of them went in,” Santiago gushed over a recent scrimmage. “I got so excited. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, because you think about someone that immensely talented, they could shoot the ball every single time they touch it, seven straight possessions for wide open threes.”
Santiago continued, “He’s so good at making everybody else better, he’s that good of a passer. And then whenever he needs to, he just rises up and can do things that you need to do late in the shot clock.”
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Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
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