The Big 12 is always loaded with basketball talent. That trend continued on Tuesday when the nation's No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, AJ Dybansta, committed to BYU.
Dybansta is a 6-foot-9, 210-pound small forward from Massachusetts who has played his high school basketball in Utah. That proximity gave the BYU program a leg-up in the race to land his services despite the fact that Dybansta is not a member of the Latter-Day Saints church.
Given a perfect 1.0000 ranking by 247Sports.com, Dybansta joins a select group of players to receive that lofty evaluation. That list includes 2024-25 Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, former Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren, former Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins, and former Ohio State center Greg Oden to name a few.
BYU is becoming a threat on the recruiting trail because of the reputation of new head coach Kevin Young who replaced Mark Pope after Pope was hired by his alma mater, Kentucky, this past offseason. Young, is a 43-year-old Salt Lake City, Utah native who has extensive ties to the NBA.
AJ Dybantsa announces his commitment to BYU and explains his decision 🔥
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 10, 2024
"I play like a mix of Tracy McGrady and Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]." 👀 pic.twitter.com/JIaymkr4Pz
From 2016-20 he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers and from 2020-24 he was an assistant for the Phoenix Suns where he served as associate head coach from 2021-24. Therefore, high-profile recruits belive that he knows exactly what it will take to prepare them for the next level.
The 2024 BYU signing class was ranked No. 27 overall in the nation and sixth in the Big 12. But it did feature 5-star wing Egor Demin, who is already paying dividends for the Cougars as he's averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game as a true freshman.
Now, the 2025 BYU recruiting class is ranked No. 11 in the nation with Dybansta in the mix. He joins 4-star commits Xavion Stanton of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Chamberlain Burgess of American Fork, Utah to give the Cougars one of the nation's elite classes.
With a huge national following and massive financial resources, BYU is a threat to be a contender in the Big 12 for the foreseeable future. And by landing the top recruit in the nation for next season, they have already made it known that they will be a force on the national stage in 2025-26.