Dybantsa named to Wooden Award Men’s National Ballot

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was named to the John R. Wooden Award Men’s National Ballot, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Saturday morning.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes (two graduate students, two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen) who are candidates for the Wooden Award All America Team and Wooden Award Trophy, recognizing the Most Outstanding College Basketball Player in the United States.

The nation’s leading scorer at 24.8 points per game, Dybantsa is shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from 3-point range and 75.5 percent the free throw line having scored in double figures every game of his career including 23 20-point performances.

His 745 points are the ninth-most scored in a single season in program history and is on pace to become the sixth player in program history to average at least 24.0 points per game (min. 20 games played). He has also attempted (253) and made (191) the eighth-most free throws in program history.

The 6-foot-9 forward enters Saturday’s regular season finale against No. 10 Texas Tech having already broken 11 BYU freshman season records, eight of which belonged to Danny Ainge during the former Wooden Award Winners first season in Provo. He also owns freshman single game records in points scored (43), field goals made (15), field goals attempted (28), free throws made (17), free throws attempted (20) and point-to-field goal attempts ratio (2.92:1).

Dybantsa is also one of seven players and only freshman to have a triple-double as he finished non-conference play with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 109-81 win over Eastern Washington. With his performance against the Eagles, the native of Brockton, Mass. became the second player in Big 12 history with a 30/10/10 triple-double and first of the points/assists/rebound variety.

Voting for the 2026. John R. Wooden Award All America Team presented by Principal will open on March 16 at 6 a.m. ET and close on March 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. During that time, voters will evaluate each candidate’s complete body of work throughout the season, including performances in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, to determine the most outstanding players in college basketball.

The Wooden Award Men’s and Women’s All-America Teams, along with the Men’s and Women’s Top Five finalist for the Wooden Award Trophy, will be announced on Saturday, April 4 during the Men’s Final Four on ESPN.