NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 7 teams for 5-star forward AJ Dybantsa

AJ Dybantsa -- the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class -- has cut his list to seven schools, announced via social media on Friday morning.

The seven teams in the mix for the 6-foot-9, 205-pound small forward are Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina.

Dybantsa, who will spend this upcoming season at Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah, is no stranger to the spotlight. The Massachusetts native started on his varsity team as an eighth grader, even winning the Gatorade Player of the Year award as a freshman, according to Dan Roche of CBS, making an immediate mark in the national college basketball recruiting limelight.

Coming off a productive summer -- earning a gold medal in the Team USA FIBA U17 World Cup and turning heads in the 2024 Peach Jam with the Oakland Soldiers -- AJ Dybantsa has solidified himself as the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 NCAA basketball recruiting class.

With the seven schools now officially in the running, take a look at how Dybantsa would fit with each of these teams.

Alabama Crimson Tide

With Nate Oats leading the way in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Crimson Tide will remain a force on the NCAA basketball recruiting trail. And there is a personal matter here, too. According to an article by Paul Biancardi of ESPN, Dybantsa was coached by Alabama assistant coach Preston Murphy in the EYBL circuit. With Grant Nelson and Clifford Omouryi set to depart the frontcourt next season while forwards Jarin Stevenson and five-star F Derrion Reid continue to draw NBA Draft buzz, there will undoubtedly be holes to fill with the wings, making the Tide an intriguing option for the talents of AJ Dybantsa.