AJ Dybantsa Says ‘Big News' Announcement Coming Thursday

AJ Dybantsa just finished up his freshman season with the BYU Cougars, earning First Team All-American honors in his debut college basketball season.

Dybantsa is expected to go as high as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The deadline to declare for the draft is Friday night, and the 19-year-old basketball phenom has yet to officially announce his decision.

Dybantsa teased some “big news” that he plans to share in a public announcement on Thursday.

“Big news tomorrow,” Dybantsa wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “11:45 a.m. ET.”

Dybantsa said he’ll follow up the announcement with an appearance on his Instagram live at noon ET.

Dybantsa led the Big 12 in scoring through the 2025-26 college basketball season, averaging 25.5 points per game on 51% shooting from the field and 33.1% shooting from behind the 3-point arc. The 6-foot-9 forward also chipped in with 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game through 35 appearances.

BYU secured a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but ultimately suffered a first-round exit with a loss to the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns. Dybantsa recorded 35 points and 10 rebounds in that 79-71 loss.

Dybantsa is reported to have made somewhere between $4 million and $6 million in NIL compensation through his freshman season at BYU.

Like Dybantsa, projected top NBA draft picks like Cameroon Boozer and Darryn Peterson have yet to announce their NBA draft decisions.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 10:59 AM.