BYU Makes Top Four Cut For No. 1 Recruit AJ Dybantsa
Dec 4, 2024, 4:26 PM | Updated: 4:31 pm
Utah Prep star AJ Dybantsa trimmed his list to a Top Four and it includes BYU basketball. (Courtesy of KSL Sports)
(Courtesy of KSL Sports)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball continues to be in the mix for the nation’s No. 1 recruit, AJ Dybantsa.
The prospect in the 2025 class has trimmed down his list of potential schools to four, and BYU is one of them.
AJ Dybantsa: Top 4
To round out the top four, BYU is joined by Alabama, Kansas, and North Carolina. Eric Bossi from 247Sports first reported the cutdown.
The nation's No. 1 overall recruit AJ Dybantsa is down to four schools: Kansas, Alabama, BYU, and North Carolina. https://t.co/ahmdwLfT7J pic.twitter.com/iXWL7AA2H7
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) December 4, 2024
The Utah Prep standout continues to shine this season in his senior year.
Last week, he earned MVP honors as Utah Prep defeated Link Academy from Missouri. Dybantsa scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
BYU assistant coach Brandon Dunson was at that game to watch Dybantsa lead Utah Prep to the victory.
Timeline for a decision from Dybantsa
The question now is, when does Dybantsa plan to commit to one of the four schools?
“Near December, probably before Christmas,” Dybantsa said at Hoopfest in Pleasant Grove last week.
Initially, Dybantsa planned to commit in February, but he decided to move that up.
MVP honors for No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa as @UtahPrepMBB defeated Link Academy in Hoopfest at Pleasant Grove High. pic.twitter.com/yUOJSef31L
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 27, 2024
“I just don’t want to wait longer,” Dybantsa said. “It’s just going to be too much to wait until the new year. I can make a decision within a month. So I’m not going to wait two more months.”
Dybantsa took in a game visit to the Marriott Center last month to see BYU take on Idaho on November 16. That visit occurred one month after an official visit to Provo in October.
“What they told me on my unofficial and my official, and what I [saw] at the game [in November] was pretty much the same thing.”
Potential No. 1 NBA draft pick
Dybantsa has made it clear throughout his recruitment that he will be a one-and-done prospect for whichever college he picks. The 6-foot-9 forward is projected as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
When KSL Sports spoke with Dybantsa after his unofficial visit to BYU in June, the No. 1 recruit noted that Kevin Young is focusing on NBA preparation with Dybantsa.
“He knows my goal is the league,” Dybantsa said to KSL Sports in June. “And he’s been working with league guys for however long he has been. So that was his motto, he can get me there since he knows what it takes.”
BYU’s staff has prioritized Dybantsa in its 2025 recruiting efforts. The 2025 class for BYU already includes 7-foot center Xavion Staton and Top-150 forward Chamberlain Burgess, who signed in November.
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.
