This article was first published in the Cougar Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each week.
In one year under head coach Kevin Young, BYU has become known as a player on the national collegiate stage with some preseason polls listing the Cougars as a top-five team.
The signing of AJ Dybantsa, the projected No. 1 draft pick in 2026, and Robert Wright III, both five-star players, plus the 2024-25 use of five-star Russian freshman Egor Demin has brought the Cougars into many discussions as Big 12 brother Houston made it to the championship game and is now pushing Kentucky with the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2025.
It’s a whole new world. In this piece, a 247Sports panel discusses how unique this past year has been for college sports and how it may be the last of what has been called the Wild, Wild West because of the upcoming House Settlement. More guidelines and guardrails are expected to be put into place along with increased transparency.
In the meantime, here’s a great video of Dybantsa dribbling a pass to himself through a defender’s legs as he finishes at the rim in an all-star game.
Question of the week
When Kevin Young landed highly coveted point guard Robert Wright III from Baylor when Egor Demin left to prep for the NBA, Dallin Hall left for Virginia and Elijah Crawford hit the transfer portal. How dire is BYU’s need for another point guard? Did signing Wright scare away transfer portal prospects who are looking for playing time?
Jay Drew: No question about it, BYU needs to add another primary point guard to its 2025-26 roster. But getting a high-quality PG won’t be easy, because the best ones aren’t going to go to a place to back up a sophomore who could be there a couple of years, at least.
BYU has some decent ball-handlers/passers on the roster, most notably Dawson Baker and Richie Saunders, but neither of those guys are true point guards. At this point, it appears that Robert Wright III is going to get as many minutes as he wants. I hope he’s durable.
What’s the solution? I don’t know the exact reasons why Elijah Crawford entered the portal, but I’ve noticed as of Monday evening that he hadn’t landed with a new team yet. If you are Kevin Young, it might be worth a phone call to see if he has any interest at all in coming back. There are worse options than Crawford, that’s for sure.
Dick Harmon: The longer BYU waits for a portal answer for the Crawford-Hall roles behind Wright, the tougher it will be to find somebody.
I agree with Jay that if Crawford doesn’t land somewhere he can start, he might be best served to return with a bump in NIL to solidify BYU’s guardline. I do think Baker and Saunders can play a little point guard, we saw both of them bring the ball up the court at times with Demin on the floor. I also believe AJ Dybantsa, while he is more of a four/three, could play all five positions, including point guard when called upon. He will draw so much defensive attention when he has the ball, it will open things up for the rest of the squad, especially Saunders.
We are taking for granted that Saunders is returning. He hasn’t announced anything either way, but if he returns, he will command some resources because he is All-Big 12 and skyrocketed up the offensive efficiency and production statistics this past year.
Dybantsa will still be a freshman and Big 12 rookie, but it doesn’t take much imagination to look at Duke freshman Cooper Flagg and see the kind of impact he had during his lone year in Durham. Dybantsa has been judged to be in the same talent realm as Flagg. I think Dybantsa and BYU’s offensive spacing will be crazy interesting. With Wright’s ball-handling skills and ability to break down a defense off the dribble, this will be a rare breed of BYU offense.
Cougar tales
- In one of the most bizarre softball series in rivalry history, BYU swept Utah with a couple of miraculous comeback victories. Read more about these games here.
- Three former Cougars finished in the top seven of the Boston Marathon with Conner Mantz doing something historic. Doug Robinson reports on this feat here.
- A cousin of a BYU defensive star has committed to play for Kalani Sitake from the class of 2026.
- All-American kick returner Keelan Marion entered the transfer portal. Here is my analysis of that move. Jackson Payne reports on linebacker Harrison Taggart also entering the portal.
- Sami Oblad busted her own school record in the 400 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays this past weekend.
- Tyler Batty explains why he’s hopeful with this week’s NFL draft in this piece by Jay Drew. Jackson Payne reports on the newest recruit signed by new women’s coach Lee Cummard.
From the archives
From the X-verse
- BYU-Arizona ranked third best OT game of the season (@CougarStats)
- Rothstein preseason ranks BYU fifth (@FanDuel)
- BYU coaches visit Hawaiian recruit (@MalakaiLee2)
Extra points
- NFL taking note of BYU offensive tackle Caleb Etienne (Deseret News)
- BYU makes cut for Idaho player of the year (KSLsports)
- Dybantsa’s thoughts on playing with Wright (KSLsports)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
Do I wish Marion would stay? Yes. I also understand where BYU is coming from in this situation; they have the NIL to keep him but they don’t want to pay him as a #1B WR when he hasn’t even had 25 receptions in a season yet. If they pay him that NIL they will have to pay all the unproven WRs that level of NIL and that’s not realistic. You can’t pay every player what they want to be paid, only the proven players or the high-level prospects.
— Boondock123
I represent a group of seniors that for 50 years have met during the school year for a luncheon with members of the BYU Athletic Department. Tom has been a regular guest. I have appreciated his consistent fan-awareness and availability. He has always been candid with his goals and objectives for BYU Athletics. He has been the right man for the right time. Under his leadership, BYU is now a respected brand in the world of college athletics. The proof is in the amazing progress BYU sports on all levels have made during his tenure. The struggling NCAA would do well to have such a leader on their team! I wish him the best in moving forward with a new chapter in his life.
— TKB
Up next
- April 22-26 | TBA | Men’s golf | Big 12 Tourney | @ Tulsa, Oklahoma
- April 24 | 5:30 p.m. | Softball | Baylor | @ Waco, Texas
- April 24 | 7:30 p.m. | Baseball | Arizona State | @ Phoenix
- April 24 | 9 p.m. | Men’s volleyball | MPSF Quarterfinals | @ Malibu, California