PROVO, Utah — BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was named the USBWA/CBS Sports Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after leading the Cougars to wins over Clemson and UC Riverside.
The 6-foot-9 forward was named the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week and Big 12 Starting Five earlier in the week after averaging 27.0 points, shooting 58.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 68.4 percent from the free throw line. He also averaged 8.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals per contest.
Dybantsa showed out at The Mecca as the freshman scored 22 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, helping the Cougars overcome a 22-point deficit in their first-ever win over Clemson. Facing the second-largest deficit of the Kevin Young era, Dybantsa went 7-of-11 from the field and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe with seven rebounds and five assists after halftime to lead BYU to a 67-64 victory in the Jimmy V Classic on a buzzer-beater from Robert Wright III.
he’s special @AJ_Dybantsa pic.twitter.com/ueuHLxwuEr
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) December 16, 2025
In BYU’s 100-53 win over UC Riverside on Saturday, Dybantsa became just the second player this season in NCAA Division I men’s basketball with 25/5/5/5 finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals. He went 11-of-17 from the field, tied for the seventh-most made field goals by a freshman in program history.
No. 10 BYU puts its 23-game non-conference home win streak on the line on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when the Cougars host former WCC foe Pacific at the Marriott Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.