AJ Dybantsa and JJ Mandaquit visit Cougars – Deseret News

This weekend is a really big weekend for the BYU Cougars football program.

The Cougars, ranked No. 14 in the current AP Top 25 poll, are 5-0 in front of a huge “Big Noon Kickoff” audience on Fox Saturday against an Arizona Wildcats team that has been average this season was, and will try to qualify for the bowl but then get knocked out – no. 10 Utah in Salt Lake City two weeks ago and has a dangerous offense.

That being said, it will be a more important weekend for the BYU basketball program, at least in the long run.

That's because the Cougars will host AJ Dybantsa, the nation's widely recognized top prospect in the Class of 2025, for an official visit.

Additionally, head coach Kevin Young and Co. will host JJ Mandaquit, who is ranked No. 63 in the country according to 247 Sports in the Class of 2025 and is Dybantsa's teammate at Utah Prep in Hurricane, for an official visit.

The two aren't necessarily thought to be a package deal, although Dybantsa – who is from Massachusetts – recently said he decided to go to Utah Prep for his senior year of high school to be with Mandaquit after going to school in California last year.

Mandaquit is originally from Hawaii but moved to Utah to play for the RSL Academy in Herriman, now called Utah Prep.

Dybantsa, listed at 247 at 6-foot-9 and weighing 210 pounds, has long been considered a top prospect in the 2025 class and is the leading candidate for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

BYU came onto his radar after Young was hired as the Cougars' head coach in the spring after spending eight years as an assistant coach in the NBA and nine years in the NBA D-League/G League.

In August, ESPN's Paul Biancardi reported that Dybantsa had six official visits scheduled, with BYU being the last. Dybantsa has attended Kansas State, Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama and Baylor.

While it's often a good sign for a school to get a prospect's final visit, don't expect Dybantsa to make a decision on where he'll play college ball for a year anytime soon, as his father has said as much before The decision is not expected to be made until next February.

As for Mandaquit, who is listed at 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds, 247 reported that he visited Louisville in late August but has no other dates scheduled other than this weekend.