BYU Basketball is getting national hype going into the next season. After top recruit AJ Dybantsa arrived on campus the feeling around the program has intensified. This comes months after Kevin Young’s first year with the Cougars ended in a Sweet 16 loss to Alabama.
Most analysts have BYU as a top 10 team going into the 2025-26 college basketball season. Jon Rothstein believes this could be a historic year for Young’s team and sees a deep tournament run on the horizon. “I think if you’re a BYU fan now and you went to the Sweet 16 without a talent like [AJ Dybantsa], the goal and the realistic expectations for BYU should be to go to a Final Four. And I don’t even think that’s anything that should blink at,” Rothstein said on his podcast.
BYU not only has Dybantsa, but Baylor transfer Rob Wright will be one of the best guards in the nation. Richie Saunders is a proven All-Big 12 talent and put off the NBA to “run it back” in Provo. While Dybantsa already said he’s out after the upcoming season, he’ll be a leader on this team and a likely candidate to be the top overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
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If BYU can reach the final phase of March Madness, it would be unprecedented. The Cougars have only experienced one Elite Eight run under the current NCAA tournament format. Danny Ainge led the Cougars to the best result in 1981. Since then, the 2011 team came close with a 83-74 Sweet 16 overtime loss to No. 2 seeded Florida.
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Needless to say, the expectations are high for BYU this year. If they come together and play outstanding basketball, the sky’s the limit. It’s not unrealistic to say the Cougars could be the team to beat in the Big 12.
