Utah Prep basketball star AJ Dybantsa, the country’s No. 1 recruit, will make his college commitment on national television Tuesday morning.
Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward, will make the announcement on ESPN’s First Take at 8:30 a.m. MT.
The high school senior has narrowed his choices to four schools: BYU, Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas.
Dybantsa recently moved up his timetable for choosing a school.
“Oh, I just didn’t want to wait any longer,” he said last month at a tournament in Pleasant Grove. “It is just going to be too much. I think I can make my decision within a month. So I’m not going to wait two more months.”
In October, Dybantsa told The Salt Lake Tribune that BYU coach Kevin Young’s NBA credentials would play a factor in his decision.
“I mean, yeah,” Dybantsa said. “That’s why [BYU] made the list. I feel like all [of the] schools have some similarities, some differences. But all of them made the list for a reason.
“All the schools have NBA guys. So I know they are capable of surpassing [college] and go to the NBA from there.”
Wherever he goes next year, Dybantsa said wants to be competitive on the national stage.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Prep Academy’s AJ Dybantsa, a star basketball player and potential BYU commit, plays in the 5 for the Fight National Hoopfest in Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
“March Madness, Final Four,” he said. “Then the NBA, NBA Finals.”
Dybantsa was raised near Boston and played two high school seasons at Prolific Prep in California before moving to Hurricane in southern Utah last summer. The star recruit is earning $600,000 in addition to his family getting an ownership stake in the school, The Tribune reported earlier this month.
At Utah Prep, Dybantsa has impressed on the court, averaging 17.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists this year. Dybantsa scored 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win over then-No. 1 Link Academy (Missouri) last month in Utah.
