PROVO, Utah – There will be no shortage of national attention on BYU basketball for the 2025-26 season.
The additions of No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa and Baylor guard Rob Wright III to pair up with first team All-Big 12 performer Richie Saunders have the Cougars as a trendy pick inside the Top 10 of Way-Too-Early Top 25 polls.
CBS Sports College basketball insider Jon Rothstein, who clearly isn’t sleeping in May, kicked the expectations for BYU into overdrive.
During his new College Basketball podcast on CBS Sports, Rothstein fielded a question asking, “What are the realistic expectations for BYU with AJ Dybantsa?”
The 2026 Final Four should be BYU’s goal next season. pic.twitter.com/jjuZZVCzd2
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 6, 2025
Jon Rothstein: Final Four should be the expectation for BYU basketball
“I think if you’re a BYU fan now, and you went to the Sweet 16 this past year without a talent like [AJ Dybantsa], the goal and the realistic expectations for BYU is to go to a Final Four. And I don’t even think that’s anything that anybody should blink at,” Rothstein said.
BYU basketball has reached the NCAA Tournament 32 times in its history, but has never made it to the Final Four. The Cougars are the program with the most appearances in the Big Dance without a Final Four run.
Rothstein continued, “You’ve got Baylor transfer Rob Wright, who is going to be one of the best sophomore point guards in college basketball and maybe one of the best point guards in college basketball this year. Richie Saunders is a proven All-Big 12 player, and then you have a player in Dybantsa who’s going to be right there and a likely candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft.”
Year two under Kevin Young
The high expectations are not surprising, given how second-year head coach Kevin Young is building his roster. Along with BYU’s top three of Saunders, Dybantsa, and Wright, BYU also brings back veteran Dawson Baker.
They also added Southern Illinois transfer Kennard Davis Jr., intriguing forward Dominique Diomande from Washington, and Idaho sharpshooter Tyler Mrus.
BYU’s roster this year features more top-end talent, which could help it make a run at the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance.
Rothstein has BYU basketball at No. 5 for next season in his “Rothstein 45.”
BYU began offseason practices earlier this week with Saunders and Dybantsa among the notables.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
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