No. 1 2025 recruit AJ Dybantsa transferring to Utah high school
Kentucky is heavily recruiting AJ Dybantsa, the top-ranked high school prospect in the country. And he’s moving right into Mark Pope’s old backyard.
On Friday morning, it was announced that Dybantsa is transferring high schools, moving from Prolific Prep in California to second-year national program Utah Prep. Of course, Utah is where Pope (and new Kentucky assistant Cody Fueger) spent the last five seasons as the head coach of the BYU Cougars.
Dybantsa is widely considered to be one of, if not the best, high school recruits in the nation. The 6-foot-9 wing is ranked No. 1 overall in the class of 2025 by the On3 Industry Ranking. Through 10 games played with the Oakland Soldiers (9-1) this season on the Nike EYBL circuit, he’s averaging 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per contest on shooting splits of 54.8/39.3/81.6.
Since taking over in Lexington, Pope and his staff have already re-offered Dybantsa. Kentucky has continued to prioritize the elite five-star prospect despite the change in leadership. The likes of Duke, Arkansas, Southern California, and UConn, among plenty more, are all involved, as well.
“Mark Pope is here (in Indianapolis at EYBL Session III), he told me he’d be here,” Dybantsa told KSR last weekend. “He called my dad, I hopped on the phone with them and we had a little chat. When we hopped on the call, I received the offer… I had (John) Calipari first, and now, I’ve been re-offered by Pope.”
Dybantsa says he intends to cut down his list after Peach Jam in July. From there, the native of Massachusetts will look to schedule visits for the fall. Kentucky could “potentially” be one of the stops, he said. While it’s not a monumental move in regards to Kentucky’s chances at landing Dybantsa, it certainly can’t hurt with all of Pope’s connections in Utah.
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