Alabama men’s basketball was a finalist for AJ Dybantsa but ultimately chose BYU.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Dybantsa is the No. 1 recruit in the entire 2025 recruiting class. He is a 6-9, 210-pound small forward whose finalists included UNC and Kansas.

Dybantsa announced his decision Tuesday on ESPN, but Dybantsa had already signed a financial aid agreement with BYU in November during the early signing period, a BYU basketball spokesman told AL.com on Tuesday.

Dybantsa’s NIL package at BYU is believed to be a multi-million dollar deal, sources with knowledge of the recruiting told AL.com. For NIL this is of great importance in terms of football, and even more so in the basketball world.

Dybantsa had a relationship with Alabama assistant Preston Murphy, the Crimson Tide’s top recruiter. Murphy had coached Dybantsa in AAU a few years ago. Murphy had only seen Dybantsa play last week.

Dybantsa’s father had also attended some of Alabama’s recent games, such as the UNC game at Chapel Hill on Dec. 4, after the early signing period when Dybantsa signed his financial aid contract with BYU.

Without Dybantsa, Alabama still has the No. 12 recruiting class in the country for 2025, according to 247Sports. The Crimson Tide signed Davion Hannah, London Jemison and Amari Allen.