AJ Dybantsa, No. 1 recruit in 2025 class, commits to BYU

AJ Dybantsa, No. 1 recruit in 2025 class, commits to BYU

AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, has committed to BYU, he announced on ESPN’s NBA First Take Tuesday morning. He chose BYU over offers from Kansas, North Carolina, UConn, Houston, Kentucky, Arkansas and Duke, among others.

AJ Dybantsa – the top-ranked prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft class – has committed to Brigham Young University, he announces on ESPN's First Take. Landmark day for the BYU Cougars. pic.twitter.com/8qB64WqtIE

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 10, 2024

AJ Dybantsa announces his commitment to BYU and explains his decision 🔥

"I play like a mix of Tracy McGrady and Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]." 👀 pic.twitter.com/JIaymkr4Pz

— First Take (@FirstTake) December 10, 2024

“A lot stood out on my visit,” Dybantsa said on First Take. “Obviously, coach Kevin Young 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. On my visit, head coach all the way down to the analytics guy, analytics guy all the way down to the dietician is all NBA staff, even 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 program for me.”

First-year Cougars head coach Kevin Young was an assistant with the Phoenix Suns for four seasons after four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and after three different head coaching stints in the G-League. He has a litany of NBA head coaching experience to help develop Dybantsa as a one-and-done prospect–similar to how he’s molding consensus top-10 pick Egor Demin right now.

Money also talks, too, and Dybantsa will be getting plenty of it. According to Forbes’ Adam Zagoria, Dybantsa will be earning “close to $7 million” in NIL funds. For perspective, picks No. 7-30 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft made less than $6.9 million in the first year of their rookie scale contracts.

Dybantsa is clearly the favorite to go No. 1 overall in 2026, so surpassing that $7 million mark in his first year shouldn’t be a problem. But that’s also an insane amount of NIL for any collegiate athlete, let alone a one-year college player. It’s impossible to knock it–get that bag! The game is the game, and that’s the game now, for better or worse.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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