LOS ANGELES, Calif. — BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is one of 25 players named to the John R. Wooden Award Men’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The 6-foot-9 forward enters Wednesday’s Big 12 matchup against Arizona State ranked second in the nation in scoring at 23.1 points per game having scored in double figures in all 14 games of his collegiate career, the fourth-longest streak to begin a career in Big 12 history.
He is shooting 58.6 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from three and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. He ranks second on the team in rebounds with 7.2 boards per game while dishing out 3.8 assists per contest.
Dybantsa is one of three freshmen in program history with multiple 30-point games in a single season, including a 35-point performance in win over Abilene Christian. He followed that up with the second 30/10/10 triple-double in Big 12 history in a win in the Cougars' non-conference finale against Eastern Washington.
| Player | School | Class |
| Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas | Freshman |
| Nate Ament | Tennessee | Freshman |
| Cameron Boozer | Duke | Freshman |
| Jaden Bradley | Arizona | Senior |
| Mikel Brown Jr. | Louisville | Freshman |
| Tucker DeVries | Indiana | Redshirt Senior |
| AJ Dybantsa | BYU | Freshman |
| Kingston Flemming | Houston | Freshman |
| PJ Haggerty | Kansas State | Junior |
| Thomas Haugh | Florida | Junior |
| Graham Ike | Gonzaga | Graduate Student |
| Josh Jefferson | Iowa State | Senior |
| Alex Karaban | UConn | Redshirt Senior |
| Trey Kaufman-Renn | Purdue | Senior |
| Koa Peat | Arizona | Freshman |
| Darryn Peterson | Kansas | Freshman |
| Labaron Philon Jr. | Alabama | Sophomore |
| Emanuel Sharp | Houston | Redshirt Senior |
| Braden Smith | Purdue | Senior |
| Bennet Stirtz | Iowa | Senior |
| Bruce Thornton | Ohio State | Senior |
| JT Toppin | Texas Tech | Junior |
| Caleb Wilson | North Carolina | Freshman |
Selected by a midseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 25 student-athletes who are front runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2026 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year. Players not selected for the list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award midseason, late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications.
Winners and All-Americans will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday, April 10, 2026.