BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa has been named one of ten semifinalists for the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year, according to an announcement by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on March 20.
The recognition places Dybantsa among the top players in college basketball this season. The Naismith Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding men’s college basketball player in the United States.
Dybantsa led the nation in scoring with an average of 25.5 points per game and scored in double figures in all 35 games he played as a Cougar. He recorded 28 games with at least 20 points and eight games with at least 30 points. His total of 894 points ranks as the third-most ever scored by a freshman in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.
He is also one of only four freshmen in NCAA Division I history to average at least 25.0 points and six rebounds per game while shooting at least fifty percent from the field. Dybantsa was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and broke twelve BYU freshman season records, including surpassing Danny Ainge’s scoring record that had stood since the late 1970s. He also set eight single-game freshman records, highlighted by a career-high forty-three point performance against Utah.
In BYU’s recent NCAA Tournament loss to Texas, Dybantsa finished with thirty-five points and ten rebounds, becoming just the second player this century to achieve those numbers in a tournament game. His thirty-five points were nearly half of BYU’s total output for that game, tying for the second-highest share by a Big 12 player in tournament history.
As one of ten semifinalists, Dybantsa joins other standout players from across major programs as finalists for one of college basketball’s most prestigious individual honors.
