No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa planning late decision, Kentucky remains in the mix

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats remain in the running for the top high school recruit in the country, regardless of class.

AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 prospect in 2025, holds over 35 offers with interest from everybody with a pulse. It’s impossible to watch the 6-9 wing and not daydream of him throwing down vicious dunks or knocking down pull-up jumpers as a long, wiry two-way threat wearing your school’s colors.

Could those colors be blue and white? Some movement is coming in the near future to help decide that down the road, starting with a list cut down to seven schools later this month and followed by visits to “five to six” schools going into the fall, he tells On3’s Joe Tipton.

“My dad will probably pick the schools I visit since he has the best interest in me,” the No. 1 recruit said.

Dybantsa previously told KSR he’d take his visits during football season in September and October, one to Lexington “potentially in the works this fall.” He said back then Mark Pope re-offered him a scholarship with a plan of “keeping it the same Kentucky as a top team.” The 6-9 wing anchoring things in 2025-26 would certainly help.

Where do things stand nearly two months later? No change.

“I talked to Mark (Pope),” Dybantsa told On3. “I went on a Zoom with him but I got the offer on a call. Went on a Zoom with him, Jason Hart, and they were just talking about what they have in store and hopefully get me on a visit. He was in Istanbul, Turkey (to see me with USA Basketball).”

Elsewhere, BYU is making a serious push to land the five-star prospect, his decision to attend Utah Prep for his senior year of high school conveniently putting the Cougars at arm’s length at the peak of his recruitment. He took an unofficial visit to Provo while he was in the area checking out his new high school.

“(The visit) was good. That’s when I took my Utah Prep visit. Since I was out there, I just took an unofficial over there,” he said. “(Coach Kevin Young) wants to get me back on an official and take me through the whole visit profile and what he has in store for me. (BYU) is three hours away from Utah Prep so it’s kind of far but it was good, seeing the campus, the overall view, the gyms and everything.”

Beyond Kentucky and BYU, Alabama, Auburn, USC, Duke, Arkansas, Baylor, UConn and Georgia Tech are among the top contenders to land Dybantsa’s commitment with list cuts and visits right around the corner. From there, he tells On3 he plans to make a decision by the early spring or late winter.

Mark Pope is looking for his first home run signing in the high school ranks. It doesn’t get any better than AJ Dybantsa.