AJ Dybantsa arrives in a big way for BYU, days after losing top NIL spot

When AJ Dybantsa reclassified to enter the college basketball scene in 2025, it set off a frantic recruiting process for practically every school's basketball program. Dybantsa was the top recruit in the nation, so he basically had the opportunity to pick wherever he wanted to go. He surprised many by going with BYU.

The Cougars have been a solid program for a while, but they are far from the blue bloods of the college basketball world. That actually factored into Dybantsa's decision, as he wanted to go somewhere without too much attention off the court. That has somewhat been the case early in his BYU career, but Dybantsa was impossible to ignore on Tuesday night, putting together his best game to date in a comeback win for the Cougars over Clemson.

Dybantsa scored 22 second-half points, leading BYU to its largest comeback victory from a second-half deficit in program history. Dybantsa ended the game with 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was a complete game from the highly touted 18-year-old. In fact, CBS Sports college basketball reporter Matt Norlander believes this was "the game that will have started it all" as Dybantsa begins his superstar trajectory.

AJ Dybantsa no longer holds the top NIL valuation in all of college sports

Dybantsa's breakout game coincides with him being knocked off the top NIL earners spot this week. In mid-November, On3's NIL Valuations tracker had Dybantsa surpassing Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning for the No. 1 college athlete, in terms of NIL value.

But this week, Manning turned the tables, reclaiming the top spot. Dybantsa is still No. 2, coming in with a $4.3 million valuation. He's the top college basketball player on the list by a wide margin, with Texas Tech forward JT Toppin being second (sixth overall) at $3 million. With a couple of more big games under his belt, Dybantsa could be moving back up the list before long.