Could BYU Shake Up College Basketball with Two Top 10 Players Next Season?
Since Kevin Young stepped into the head coach role last April, there’s been no shortage of buzz around the BYU Cougars men’s basketball squad—especially regarding the sheer caliber of talent now on board. But let’s cut through the hype for a sec: how do the individual players actually stack up for the 2025-26 season? Glad you asked. Earlier this week, CBS Sports luminaries Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander put their heads together for a little fantasy-style draft, each assembling their dream starting fives. Spoiler alert: BYU isn’t just represented—they landed two picks within the top ten, spotlighting AJ Dybantsa and Richie Saunders as bona fide national standouts. Dybantsa’s freshman season alone catapults him toward being a serious No. 1 overall NBA draft contender in ’26, while Saunders, a First Team All-Big 12 honoree, shrewdly decided to return for his senior season rather than jump to the pros. If you want to savor how BYU’s roster is catching some serious eyes across the college hoops landscape, this is your starting block. LEARN MORENorlander chose AJ Dybantsa with the second pick, and Parrish picked Richie Saunders with the ninth pick. Yes, in their eyes, BYU will have two of the 10 best players in the entire country next season.Dybantsa, of course, is the much ballyhooed freshman who at this point is a contender to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Well, according to an exercise that was done earlier this week by CBS Sports college basketball experts Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander, the answer to that question could be something like “really good.”
Much has been made about the high level of talent that has joined the BYU Cougars men’s basketball program since Kevin Young became head coach last April, but just how good are some of the individual players who will be on the roster in the 2025-26 season?Saunders, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which he received First Team All-Big 12 honors, and he announced in late April that he will return to the Cougars for his senior season instead of explore professional opportunities.
Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.Parrish and Norlander conducted a draft of sorts to create a starting five fantasy lineup for each of them, and both selected one Cougar each. BYU was the lone team to have two players chosen in the exercise. Here is the full order of the exercise from Parrish and Norlander.Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”
- JT Toppin, Texas Tech.
- AJ Dybantsa, BYU.
- Braden Smith, Purdue.
- Cameron Boozer, Duke.
- Darryn Peterson, Kansas.
- Donovan Dent, UCLA.
- Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky.
- Bennett Stirtz, Iowa.
- Richie Saunders, BYU.
- Solo Ball, UConn.
Norlander had his first pick of coaches and selected Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, and Parrish went with St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.
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