No. 1 Overall Hoops Recruit Names Alabama in Final Four

AJ Dybanta, the No. 1 player in the 2025 class, named the Crimson Tide in his final list of four schools.

Utah Prep's AJ Dybantsa drives to the basket past Highland School defender Chance Perkins during a game at Emmanuel College in Boston on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. / Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nate Oats and the Alabama men's basketball team could be on the verge of landing yet another top-50 overall prospect in the 2025 class.

According to Joe Tipton of On3, AJ Dybantsa, who is ranked by every major recruiting outlet as the No. 1 overall player in the nation, narrowed his list of schools to four this week, including the Crimson Tide among BYU, Kansas and North Carolina.

The nation's No. 1 overall recruit AJ Dybantsa is down to four schools: Kansas, Alabama, BYU, and North Carolina. https://t.co/ahmdwLfT7J pic.twitter.com/iXWL7AA2H7

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) December 4, 2024

Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9, 210 lb. wing possesses elite athleticism and scoring ability. He has incredible length and uses it to his advantage on both the offensive and defensive end.

Adam Finkelstein, director of scouting for 247Sports, said of the talented prospect, "The bottom line is this: Dybantsa controls his own future. If he continues on his current path, then there's no one in high school basketball with more potential than him."

Hailing from Hurricane, Utah, Dybantsa currently suits up for Utah Prep which is one of the nation's premier basketball prep schools. This season, he has only seen time in two games thus far, but is averaging a double-double in those contests.

He recently told ESPN that he was moving his commitment date up to December from its originally planned date in February.

Dybantsa said, in regard to the decision, "The original plan was to commit in February. The visits stopped in October, and we wanted to make sure we had enough time see all the schools play. We are ahead of where we thought we would be. If I know where I want to go, why wait?"

As of now, Alabama men's basketball has the No. 11 ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports, but the addition of a player like Dybantsa would all but solidify another top-5 recruiting finish for Nate Oats.