BYU’s AJ Dybantsa named AP All-American for 2025-26 season

PROVO, Utah – AJ Dybantsa continues to pile up the accomplishments during his freshman season with the BYU basketball program.

On Tuesday, an hour after he and the BYU basketball team departed for Portland in preparation for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Dybantsa was named by the Associated Press as a First Team All-American.

AJ Dybantsa: First Team All-American pic.twitter.com/vWG8QtsvHw

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 17, 2026

Dybantsa is the first BYU player to receive a first-team AP All-American nod since Jimmer Fredette in 2011.

He’s only the third player in BYU basketball history to be named a first-team AP All-American, joining Fredette and Danny Ainge in 1981.

The Big 12 Freshman of the Year enters the NCAA Tournament as the nation’s leading scorer at 25.3 points per game.

Dybantsa has scored 859 points this season, which is the fifth-most by a freshman since 2001. He’s 45 points away from passing Kevin Durant, who scored 903 points in his one season at Texas in 2007.

Dybantsa isn’t the only freshman on the AP First Team All-American squad. The Brockton, Massachusetts native is joined by Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. Boozer was the lone unanimous selection on the AP First Team.

The rest of the AP All-American First Team includes Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin. Toppin suffered a season-ending injury on February 17.

Dybantsa and BYU will face either NC State or Texas on Thursday in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in Portland. Tip-off for the game is at 5:25 p.m. (MDT) on TBS and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM in Utah).

2025-26 AP All-American: First Team

*Unanimous selection

• Cameron Boozer, Duke, Freshman*
• AJ Dybantsa, BYU, Freshman
• Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan, Senior
• Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, Freshman
• JT Toppin, Texas Tech, Junior

Second Team

• Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State, Senior
• Braden Smith, Purdue, Senior
• Jeremy Fears, Michigan State, Sophomore
• Keaton Wagler, Illinois, Freshman
• Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, Freshman

Third Team

• Kingston Flemings, Houston, Freshman
• Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama, Sophomore
• Thomas Haugh, Florida, Junior
• Christian Anderson, Texas Tech, Sophomore
• Graham Ike, Gonzaga, Senior

Honorable Mention: Michael Ajayi, Butler; Jaden Bradley, Arizona; Brayden Burries, Arizona; Rueben Chinyelu, Florida; Zuby Eljiofor, St. John’s; PJ Haggerty, K-State; Ebuka Okorie, Stanford; Darryn Peterson, Kansas; Bennett Stirtz, Iowa; Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYUathletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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