College sports

The 17-year-old traveled between Alabama, Kansas, Brigham Young and North Carolina.

By Emma Healy, The Boston Globe

December 10, 2024 | 2:05 p.m

AJ Dybantsa, a Brockton native projected to be the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, will play college basketball at BYU, he announced Tuesday.

Dybantsa announced his decision – which fell on Alabama, Kansas, Brigham Young and North Carolina – on ESPN’s “First Take” alongside host Stephen A. Smith.

Dybantsa, the best high school player in the country, plays for Utah Prep, a basketball academy that competes on the grind session circuit against other programs that produce top college prospects.

After being named the Massachusetts Boys’ Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year following his freshman year at Saint Sebastian’s in Needham, where he averaged 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 blocks per game , he moved to Prolific Prep in Napa, California. where he played last season. He then transferred to the 2025 class before transferring to Utah Prep before this season.

The 17-year-old Dybantsa has played a few games in his home state this year, facing fellow New England star Cooper Flagg in a sold-out match at the Hoophall Classic in January and returning to the Boston area in November for 19 points to rally in a 79-71 victory over Highlands (Va.) High School at Emmanuel College.

Dybantsa follows Flagg, a Maine native who finished his high school career at Montverde Academy in Florida, as two of the best New England basketball products in recent memory. Flagg, who became the youngest player ever to be named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2022, is averaging 17 points per game as a freshman at Duke.