No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa commits to BYU

AJ Dybantsa, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2025, is heading to Mark Pope‘s old stomping grounds. The 6-9 guard out of Massachusetts committed to BYU over Alabama, Kansas and North Carolina on Tuesday with his announcement coming on ESPN’s First Take.

“A lot stood out on my visit,” he said. “Obviously, Coach Kevin Young down there. My ultimate goal is to get to the NBA. He coached my favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant, and he had high praise about him. Head coach all the way down to the analytics guy to dietician to the strength coach. If it’s all NBA, I’m trying to get to the NBA. I think it’s going to be the best development for me.”

Kentucky was previously in the running for Dybantsa prior to his list cut down to seven schools, Pope offering the generational talent a scholarship upon taking the job in Lexington. Auburn, Baylor and Kansas State were also included in that first list cut before he narrowed his focus to the Cougars, Tide, Jayhawks and Tar Heels.

BYU is currently 6-2 to open the 2024-25 season under Kevin Young, the Cougars picking up wins over Central Arkansas, UC Riverside, Queens, Idaho, Mississippi Valley and NC State with losses to Ole Miss and Providence.

Dybantsa is the program’s highest-rated commitment in program history and the first five-star overall.

“The goal is to win a national championship,” he said. “Individually their plan is to make me NBA ready, the No. 1 overall draft pick. They will help me with my 3-point shot and put me in different spots that I would play in the NBA.”

Quite the turn of events for a BYU program getting its first taste of success as a Power 4 program a year ago under Pope.