Dybantsa named Big 12 Freshman of the Year; Wright III, Saunders pickup all-conference honors

Dybantsa becomes the first Cougar to be named the conference's top freshman since 2006-07.

Author Tyson Jex
Dybantsa named Big 12 Freshman of the Year; Wright III, Saunders pickup all-conference honorsDybantsa named Big 12 Freshman of the Year; Wright III, Saunders pickup all-conference honors

IRVING, Texas – BYU’s AJ Dybantsa has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, the league office announced on Monday afternoon.

Dybantsa becomes the seventh player in program history to earn Freshman of the Year accolades and first since Jonathan Tavernari in 2006-07. He also picked up First Team All-Big 12 and All-Freshman Team accolades.

Richie Saunders (Second Team) and Robert Wright III (Third Team) joined Dybantsa in earning All-Big 12 honors. marking the first time since 2020-21 that BYU had at least three players earn postseason honors.

The nation’s leading scorer at 24.7 points per game, Dybantsa has scored in double figures in all 31 games as a Cougar, including 24 20-point performances, which are tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.

His 766 points are a freshman record and the seventh-most in a single season in program history. The native of Brockton, Mass. is 34 points away from becoming the seventh freshman in NCAA Division I men’s basketball since 2000 to score 800 or more points in a single season.

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 25.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in Big 12 play while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 34.0 percent from three and 74.0 percent from the free throw line. In 18 league games, he scored 20 or more 16 times, including a freshman record 43 points in BYU's win over Utah on Jan. 24, at the Marriott Center.

In the Cougars' non-conference finale against Eastern Washington, Dybantsa recorded the second 30/10/10 triple-double in Big 12 history and the first of the points/rebounds/assists variety, finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Saunders picked up all-league honors for the second straight season as the senior was named Second Team All-Big 12 even after missing the final six games of the regular season.

Prior to tearing his ACL against Colorado, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three and 81.7 percent from the free throw line.

The Riverton native scored in double figures 21 times, highlighted by a career-high 33-point performance at Kansas, where he tied a career-high with six 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds against the Jayhawks for one of his three double-doubles on the season.

Saunders finished his career 17th on the all-time scoring list with 1,544 points in 128 games, tied for the 19th most games played in program history. He also ranks eighth in 3-point field goals made and attempts, with the 17th highest 3-point field goal percentage.

Wright III was named Third Team All-Big 12 after earning honorable mention accolades last season during his freshman season at Baylor. He finished the regular season with the seventh-highest scoring average in the conference at 18.65 points per game.

The 6-foot-1 guard has scored in double figures 28 times, including 13 20-point performances, 10 more than he had at Baylor in 2024-25. Entering the Big 12 Tournament, Wright III is shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from three and 82.5 percent from the free throw line, having made his last 18 attempts at the charity stripe. He scored a career-high 39 points in BYU’s overtime victory over Colorado, going 12-of-16 from the field, 4-of-4 from three and 11-of-13 from the free throw line.

He also has a pair of double-doubles this season, with 10 points, 11 rebounds in a win over No. 23 Wisconsin, and 14 points and 12 assists in a win over Cal Baptist. His 12 assists in the win over the Lancers are tied for the 12th most in a single game in program history.

BYU opens the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 10, when the Cougars face Kansas State. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.