AJ Dybantsa came into his freshman season for the BYU Cougars ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the country and was viewed as the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
To say that he has lived up to the billing would be an understatement. He leads the country in points per game at 25.3, led the program to its third straight NCAA Tournament and was also named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
As he and the No. 6 seed Cougars await their first-round opponent in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, Dybantsa’s list of honors grew by one.
As shared on the BYU social media pages, Dybantsa was named a first-team All-American. He was joined by fellow five-star freshman Cam Boozer (Duke), Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Yaxel Lenderborg (Michigan) and JT Toppin (Texas Tech).
According to a release by the AP, Boozer was a unanimous selection, while Dybantsa received all but four first-team votes.
“ALL-AMERICAN,” wrote BYU on X.
ALL-AMERICAN pic.twitter.com/3V8eQ1V8RG
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 17, 2026
When asked by the AP about Dybantsa, BYU head coach Kevin Young revealed just how special of a player the freshman is.
“When I left the NBA to come to college,” Young said, “One thing I noticed is just a lot of guys, their processing speed was way slower. AJ’s is extremely high. So I can tell him something in the game, or in a film session, and he’s going to carry it over.”
BYU will play the winner of Tuesday’s First Four matchup between the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns and No. 11 seed North Carolina State Wolfpack.
The Cougars’ first game of the tournament will take place on Thursday, March. 19 at 7:25 p.m. ET and will air on TBS.
Related: Purdue Shares Major Braden Smith News Before NCAA Tournament
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.