BYU forward AJ Dybantsa has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Men’s National Ballot, according to an announcement from the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The ballot includes 15 student-athletes, selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, who are now candidates for both the Wooden Award All America Team and the Wooden Award Trophy, which honors the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
Dybantsa leads the nation in scoring with an average of 24.8 points per game. He is shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from three-point range, and 75.5 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures every game of his career and recorded 23 games with at least 20 points.
His season total of 745 points ranks ninth all-time for a single season in BYU program history, and he is on track to become only the sixth player in school history to average at least 24 points per game over a minimum of 20 games played. Dybantsa has also made and attempted more free throws than any other freshman in BYU history except for seven players overall.
The six-foot-nine forward has set or broken eleven BYU freshman season records this year, surpassing eight marks previously held by former Wooden Award winner Danny Ainge during his first year at BYU. Dybantsa also holds several freshman single-game records: most points scored (43), field goals made (15), field goals attempted (28), free throws made (17), free throws attempted (20), and point-to-field goal attempts ratio (2.92:1).
Dybantsa is one of only seven players—and the only freshman—to record a triple-double this season after finishing non-conference play with 33 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists in a win over Eastern Washington. With that performance, he became just the second player in Big 12 history to post a triple-double with at least thirty points, ten rebounds, and ten assists.
Voting for this year’s John R. Wooden Award All America Team will begin March 16 at 6 a.m. ET and end March 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Voters will consider each candidate’s full body of work throughout the season—including performances during NCAA Tournament opening rounds—when making their selections.
The announcement of both Men’s and Women’s All-America Teams as well as Top Five finalists for each award will take place April 4 during ESPN’s coverage of the Men’s Final Four.
