KANSAS CITY, Mo. – BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was named to the NABC Division I Player of the Year Preseason Watch List on Thursday morning.
The 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year — to be selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches at the conclusion of the regular season — will be announced the week of the 2026 Men’s Final Four.
| 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year Preseason Watch List | |
| Name | School |
| Nate Ament | Tennessee |
| Cameron Boozer | Duke |
| Alex Condon | Florida |
| Donovan Dent | UCLA |
| AJ Dybantsa | BYU |
| Zuby Ejiofor | St. John's |
| PJ Haggerty | Kansas State |
| Graham Ike | Gonzaga |
| Alex Karaban | UConn |
| Trey Kaufman-Renn | Purdue |
| Yaxel Lendeborg | Michigan |
| Otega Oweh | Kentucky |
| Darryn Peterson | Kansas |
| Tahaad Pettiford | Auburn |
| Labaron Philon | Alabama |
| Braden Smith | Purdue |
| Bennett Stirtz | Iowa |
| JT Toppin | Texas Tech |
| Milos Uzan | Houston |
| Darrion Williams | NC State |
The preseason accolades continue to roll in for the freshman from Brockton, Mass., as he was named to the Naismith Starting 5 – Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year preseason watch list on Wednesday. Earlier in the month, he also became just the second player in program history to earn AP Preseason All-American honors.
The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 24.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game in BYU’s two exhibition contests. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the Cougars 78-76 win over Caleb Wilson and No. 25 North Carolina.
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa in his unofficial BYU debut vs Nebraska
— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) October 18, 2025
30 Points
7 rebounds
3 assists
3 steals
1 block
10/19 FG
2/4 3P
8/8 FT
Was very comfortable handling in the PNR, shot looked very confident, great at foul baiting and getting to his spots
Very comfortable… pic.twitter.com/zCQct80beE
In his first game in a BYU uniform, Dybantsa scored a team-high 30 points at Nebraska, going 10-of-19 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.
No. 8 BYU opens the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3 when the Cougars take on Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PT on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.