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AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 Class and BYU signee, is already popular among the Cougars fans. Dybantsa was a spectator during BYU's match against West Virginia on Sunday and the fans were happy to see the 6'9 small forward, to say the least.
In a video posted by Nathan Dunn, a former sports writer for The Utah Statesman, the crowd could be seen chanting Dybantsa's name as he walked up the steps.
"Dybantsa is going through the ROC, to “AJ” chants," he captioned the video on X.
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The Cougars, who won the match 77-56, improved their record to 21-8 overall and 12-6 in conference play. This marked their second win of the season against the Mountaineers after grabbing a 73-69 win on Feb. 12.
Two players for the Cougars scored in double digits from the starting five. Richie Saunders scored 13 points on 55.5% shooting and went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. He also added two rebounds, one assist and one block.
Egor Demin scored 15 points with six rebounds and three assists while shooting 40% from the field, including 66.7% from beyond the arc. Fousseyni Traore came off the bench to record a double double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. He also shot an impressive 9-for-13 from the field.
AJ Dybantsa is coming off a hot streak for Utah Prep. The Brockton, MA native recorded a double-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds, one assist and one block in the Philadelphia Grind Session last week to lead his team to a 90-62 win against Huntington Prep.
Dybantsa also helped his team to a 69-61 win over Iowa United in the previous Grind Session. He scored 38 points, seven boards and three assists along with two steals.
Hoops analyst talks about AJ Dybantsa's NBA Draft pick
The 2026 NBA Mock Draft by SportsCenter NEXT predicted last Friday that Darryn Peterson will go as the first pick to the Washington Wizards in the 2026 NBA Draft while AJ Dybantsa will be the second pick for the New Orleans Pelicans.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony gave his take on the No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks on Saturday and claimed Peterson has made a strong push.
"While AJ Dybantsa has been presumed the No. 1 pick in 2026, Darryn Peterson has made a strong push in the past few months. There is plenty of runway left to determine who is ultimately picked first," Givony said.
Do you think Darryn Peterson will be picked ahead of AJ Dybantsa? Let us know in the comments.
