IN PICS: BYU shares snaps from $3.8 million NIL-valued AJ Dybantsa’s first practice session

BYU secured the commitment of AJ Dybantsa, the top-ranked basketball recruit in the 2025 class, and is already teasing fans with pictures of the forward. Dybantsa chose the Cougars over other highly regarded programs like Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas, stating that he was attracted to the NBA-oriented staff and the overall family atmosphere.

BYU shared snaps of Dybantsa in training with his teammates as Kevin Young’s team prepared for the 2025-26 season.

“Day 1,” BYU wrote in the caption of the Instagram post.

Dybantsa announced his commitment to BYU on ESPN’s First Take in December 2024, making history as the highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to the program.

"A lot stood out on my visit," Dybantsa said. "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."

Originally part of the 2026 class, the forward reclassified to 2025 in October 2023, accelerating his path to collegiate basketball.

The 6-foot-9 forward began his high school journey at St. Sebastian’s in Massachusetts before transferring to Prolific Prep in California for his sophomore year and then Utah Prep Academy for his final year in high school.

Dybantsa also has international experience, having represented the United States at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Mérida, Mexico. He averaged 13.8 points across the tournament and contributed 12 points in the gold medal game.

Already valued at $3.8 million in NIL earnings, Dybantsa has established partnerships with Red Bull and Nike.

As he transitions into college basketball, his marketability is expected to grow further, with more brand collaborations likely coming his way.

AJ Dybantsa announces launch of YouTube channel

Dybantsa signalled the next step in building his personal brand by launching a YouTube channel, announcing the move on Monday via X.

“Go subscribe to my new YouTube channel. 🔗 in bio,” he wrote, alongside an announcement video.

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The Cougars will play their first game of the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3 against Villanova in Las Vegas.

About the author

Babatunde Kolawole is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience in the field with Canoncrested.com, Garbersports.com, LiveScore Bet Nigeria and Pulse Sports Nigeria.

Kolawole studied Agricultural Economics on the tertiary level but delved into sports writing after school. Over half a decade later, the experience garnered helped him land this role.

Historically, the Alabama Crimson Tide stands out as Kolawole's favorite team as he was drawn to their rich history.

As for basketball, JuJu Watkins is Kolawole's favorite current player due to how much diversity she has in her game, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod for past players because of how he dominated with UCLA.

Kolawole has appeared on several TV and Radio shows as a guest analyst, and in his spare time, likes to watch movies (a sucker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and listen to a lot of music. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman