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Despite only spending one year in Utah Prep, top-ranked 2025 prospect AJ Dybantsa has grown quite close to his teammates over at Hurricane, Utah. The five-star BYU signee even showed some love when, on Sunday, teammate Jaden Vance announced that he will be going to the University of California- San Diego next season.
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Vance is a three-star small forward who was often AJ Dybantsa's backup at Utah Prep. Like Dybantsa, he came from another school, Compass Prep. Despite only spending one season with one another, the five-star commented on Jaden Vance's commitment post multiple times, jokingly referring to himself as the three-star's "father."
"proud father 🤞🏾," joked Dybantsa
"congrats brudda," added the five-star small forward
"yes jado," he also commented.
Before choosing UC San Diego, Vance also had offers from San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, West Virginia, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico State and more. He is unranked nationally but is ranked as the No. 50 small forward from the Class of 2025, as well as the No. 16 player from Arizona, according to 247Sports.
As for his high-profile teammate, Dybantsa is going to BYU, with experts projecting that the No. 1-ranked overall prospect from the Class of 2025 will be a one-and-done.
Some experts also project him to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft should he go through being a one-and-done. Dybransa has been honest about his plans, even picking BYU because of its NBA-level staff.
AJ Dybantsa and Utah Prep ended their season in disappointment following semifinal loss
With AJ Dybantsa and JJ Mandaquit leading the team, many predicted at the start of the 2024-2025 season that Utah Prep would dominate. However, in the semifinal of the Grind Session World Cup on March 23, the Athletes failed to even reach the finals, let alone qualify for the Chipotle Nationals.
They took on Canadian team Fort Earie in the semifinal, with AJ Dybantsa being his usual self, getting 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal. However, they could not close out the game with a win, falling to the Canadian team, 70-72.
Fort Erie eventually made it to the final, only to lose to Utah Prep's biggest rival this season, Darryn Peterson and the Prolific Prep Crew. Prolific Prep then went on to play in the Chipotle Nationals but lost in the semifinal against Dynamic Prep.
