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BYU Crowd Gives No. 1 Commit AJ Dybantsa Such a Special Welcoming Moment

The top prospect in the class of 2025 made his way to Provo for a warm welcome on Wednesday.

Blake Silverman

BYU welcomes top prospect AJ Dybantsa
BYU welcomes top prospect AJ Dybantsa / Screengrab via @Mitch_Harper on X/Twitter
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Just 24 hours after AJ Dybantsa committed to BYU, the No. 1 prospect made his way to Provo, Utah.

Dybantsa announced his intention to play for Kevin Young and the Cougars Tuesday on ESPN's First Take.

BYU had a home game Wednesday night against the Fresno State Bulldogs, where Dybantsa made an appearance to a special introduction video and huge cheers from the home crowd.

The song 'on one tonight' by Gunna, which has turned into Dybantsa's personal anthem, played alongside a video of Dybantsa's commitment and highlights before it cut to the top prospect walking onto the floor at the Marriott Center.

He took it all in, hyped up the crowd and showed gratitude for the special welcome a season before he puts on a BYU jersey. He chose BYU over powerhouse basketball schools like Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama.

Dybantsa is the early projection for the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. BYU head coach Kevin Young's NBA background played a big part in his college decision.

"At BYU, the whole staff from the head coach on down came from the NBA," Dybantsa told ESPN. "Head coach Kevin Young coached my favorite player in KD [Kevin Durant], and coached Devin Booker. Both had a lot of good things to say about him. We watched clips of both."

Even with a highly touted NBA prospect currently on the BYU roster in Egor Demin, Dybantsa changes the game for the Cougars even if he'll play just one season in Provo.

With plenty of time left before Dybantsa hits the floor for BYU, he already has campus buzzing.

BYU (7-2) beat Fresno State (3-7) 95-67 on Wednesday with the nation's top recruit in the building.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a breaking/trending news writer at Sports Illustrated. Blake has covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball since 2021 for numerous sites including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's degree in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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