PROVO, Utah — BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was named Sporting News Preseason First Team All-American on Monday morning.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Brockton, Mass. was joined on the list by Purdue’s Braden Smith, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
Presenting our College Basketball Preseason All-America team 🇺🇸
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 10, 2025
⭐️ Braden Smith, PG, Purdue
⭐️ JT Toppin, PF, Texas Tech
⭐️ Otega Oweh, SF, Kentucky
⭐️ Darryn Peterson, PG, Kansas
⭐️ AJ Dybantsa, SF, BYUhttps://t.co/Hpm7Ga76nx
Through two games of his collegiate career, Dybantsa is averaging 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 50.0 percent from the free throw line.
He became the fifth freshman in program history to score 20 or more points in a debut with his 21-point performance in BYU’s 71-66 win over Villanova at Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas. He went 9-of-18 from the field against the Wildcats, including knocking down his only attempt from three.
The freshman followed that up with a 17-point, 8-rebound performance on Saturday in a 98-53 victory over Holy Cross. In his first-ever game at the Marriott Center, Dybantsa went 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe as BYU extended its non-conference home win streak to 21 games.
No. 8 BYU returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 11, when the Cougars host Delaware at the Marriott Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.