AJ Dybantsa
Anicet “AJ” Dybantsa Jr. is an American basketball player for the BYU Cougars of the Big 12 Conference. He was rated as the number one player in the 2025 class after reclassifying from the 2026 class.
Early life and high school career
Dybantsa was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts, initially attended Saint Sebastian's School. Dybantsa is of Congolese and Jamaican origin. His father grew up in Grigny, France. He was named the Massachusetts Boys' Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year following his freshman season after averaging 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Dybantsa helped lead Saint Sebastian's to the NEPSAC Class A state championship, but lost to Milton Academy 77–76.Dybantsa transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa, California at the end of his freshman year, where he teamed up with the second-ranked player in the 2026 class, Tyran Stokes. In July 2023, Dybantsa led the Nike Elite [Youth Basketball League#EYBL circuit|Nike Peach Jam] in scoring with 25.8 points per game as a member of Expressions Elite, an Amateur Athletic Union team from Boston.
Dybantsa concluded his high school basketball career attending and playing for Utah Prep Academy in Hurricane, Utah for the 2024-25 season. (Utah Prep Academy was previously RSL Basketball Academy in Herriman, UT. At Utah Prep Academy, Dybantsa reunited with fellow USA gold medalist JJ Mandaquit, the nation's seventh-ranked point guard in the 2025 class who was also playing his senior year with the program.
Recruiting
Dybantsa was named the number one NBA prospect in the 2026 class by ESPN following his high school freshman season, with his first NCAA Division I college offer coming from Boston College. Additional schools that offered him a scholarship and/or were under consideration include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, UConn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Kentucky, North [Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina], Providence, USC, Utah, and Washington. In July 2023, On3.com named Dybantsa the top high school player in the country regardless of class.On October 11, 2023, Dybantsa announced that he had reclassified to the 2025 class.
On December 10, 2024, Dybantsa announced on First Take that he would be committing to BYU as he wanted to play basketball without much off-court attention. He became the highest-ranked committed recruit to join BYU in program history.