2025 No. 1 prospect AJ Dybantsa talks about reclassification and recruiting process

Utah Prep Five-Star Plus+ small forward AJ Dybantsathe consensus top-rated basketball prospect in the 2025 cycle will remain on the board in November.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has reduced 35 offers to the top 7 – Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State And North Carolina – although some competitors appear to be ahead.

Dybantsa's father said back in the summer that the plan was still to announce a decision in February. He has taken official visits to every finalist except Baylor, which will likely drop out of the race in the future.

The No. 1 candidate, a native of Brockton, Massachusetts, has joined “Podcast P with Paul George” This week he'll talk all things hoops, including his recruitment and decision to re-enter the 2025 cycle.

Dybantsa cancels reclassification

The blue-chip forward was scheduled to enter high school as a member of the class of 2025, but demoted and remained in eighth grade for a second year. Apparently he was an elite recruit back then and decided to return to his old year last October.

“That's my original class, I just wasn't ready to play with those guys, and then once I grew into my body and got a strength coach, I thought, 'I'm ready to step up again,'” Dybantsa said .

He was the No. 1 player in the class of 2026 and remained at No. 1 when he was reclassified to 2025. He remained the top ranked player in the On300 and is also the highest-ranked player in all other recruiting services.

“AJ Dybantsa is a skilled, offensively talented player. His natural ability and ability. From the first time I saw him in middle school, Dybantsa had a unique offensive feel. Even at a young age, his ability to analyze and interpret the piece was impressive.” On3's Jamie Shaw wrote about his reclassification.

Family pillars helped Dybantsa reach top schools

Dybantsa's list of top programs doesn't include all of the usual suspects one might assume when it comes to a No. 1 recruit. When discussing his process, Dybantsa didn't seem concerned with the status of each school and focused much more on what each school offers from different perspectives.

“Everyone will think there should be four or five blue bloods in there, but I mean, me and my family have pillars,” he said. “We need a family-oriented school, I need a coach who doesn't sugarcoat things, I need the best and fastest development plan – I'm trying to be one, I need a successful organization and I just chose that.” “The seven best Schools that I think are a good fit… I’m just trying to pick the school that fits me best.”

While Dybantsa is beyond grateful for the immense number of offers he received throughout his process, he wasn't planning on going through a barrage of texts and calls on a daily basis. That job was left to his father, who handled the initial process while they worked to narrow down his list of top schools.

Now Dybantsa is building relationships with the employees on his roster as he continues to move toward a decision.

“Before I narrowed down my list, my dad talked to all the coaches. I had about 35 offers and didn't talk to any of them. I'll let him handle it, I try to do everything, I don't try to answer 35 calls, respectfully, I don't go on 35 visits,” he said. “When it came time to narrow it down, I spoke to a few coaches on his phone and we picked the top seven. Now I have their numbers so I can try to build a relationship with the coach I will most likely go play with.”