Maybe a lot, maybe a little.

Trevin Knell, Mawot Mag, Fousseyni Traore and Trey Stewart are out of eligibility and the nation’s top recruit, A.J. Dybantsa, has signed his letter-of-intent to play for the Cougars

Beyond that, literally anything can happen over the next eight months.

The transfer portal and name, image and likeness payouts have created a college version of NBA free agency, and the frenzy will start shortly for every team across the country.

Courtesy BYU Photo

At the top of BYU’s off-season agenda is freshman Egor Demin and his next move. The 6-foot-9 guard from Russia was considered an NBA lottery pick before his initial college season and after an impressive three-game performance in the NCAA Tournament, that’s definitely still on the table.

Common wisdom is that if Demin is indeed a lottery pick (a top 14 selection) he should declare for the NBA Draft. If he’s slotted for later in the first round, well, there are those who believe Demin would benefit from another year in college.

As BYU coach Kevin Young said, “Those are really calculated decisions.”

Factored into the calculation are real emotions and how Demin thoroughly enjoyed his time in Provo since joining the program.

“It’s just pure love around this team,” Demin said in the locker room following last Thursday’s Sweet 16 loss to Alabama. “I just feel wanted here and I feel as part of the family. I feel confident in everyone in this BYU environment, starting from every player and every coach, finishing with every manager, every office worker and everybody who’s trying to make us better and everybody who’s just loving us.”

Demin, who averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game as a freshman, said he was still focused on what this season has meant to him.

“I’m not really trying to make any decision right now, and I’m not even trying to think about it, because I want to take some time to enjoy the moment with my team, and the rest of my teammates who aren’t going to be here next year,” he said. “I’ll just enjoy some time in Provo, coming back to workouts and we’ll see what happens.”

Young said he won’t “pitch anything” to Demin as he contemplates his future.

“He’s got a great support team in his corner,” Young said. “That stuff is very personal and it’s very situational. I’ll try to lend some advice to him as best as I can, give him my NBA connections and so forth, try to make sure he understands how they view him. Obviously, we would clearly welcome him back. He’s an unbelievable kid and he cares so much about this program and this university.”

Demin and Dybantsa are certainly an intriguing combination that Cougar Nation would love to see together next season.

“A.J.’s an amazing player, and for me, it’s super attractive to have a chance to play with him on the same team,” Demin said. “I think he’ll fit in very well to this environment. He would be one of the reasons why I would want to come back next year.

“And KY (Young), he’s an amazing guy, and I’m super grateful for everything he did. The thing I can say is my decision earlier in the summer, coming here, it wasn’t a mistake at all.”

Young is realistic about his chances of coaching Demin next year but knows the young player will do what’s best for his career.

“Egor loves BYU,” Young said. “He told me one time, ‘Coach, I could play (for BYU) for the next ten years,’ and I was like, ‘Just give me four.’ But that just speaks to how much he’s really embraced the community. Whether he goes to the NBA or comes back, I will be rooting for that kid forever.”

The more things change: BYU leading scorer Richie Saunders raised his NBA stock considerably during his junior year and will consider his options moving forward.

Freshman Kanon Catchings, who started 15 games and averaged 7.2 points per contest, has already put his name in the transfer portal, according to reports. He likely won’t be the only Cougar to test the waters and see if a change of scenery is their next move.

Regardless of what Demin and others decide, Young is bullish on BYU basketball.

“The future is incredibly bright,” Young said. “I think anyone that pays attention to the sport would agree with that. This was obviously just a statement, this season, where we’re a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12 and nationally, led by really good players that we had this year. We’ll continue to bring good players in. I think there’s a lot of good things going on at BYU, period. Making the move to the Big 12, the football team kind of got that party started in the last couple of years, and we tried to carry the torch as well. It’s exciting to think what we can build.”

Adding on: Young wasted no time in mining the transfer portal for talent, grabbing 6-foot-8 forward Dominique Diomande from the University of Washington, according to s9cial media reports.

Diomande is from Tours, France, and didn’t play for the Huskies during the 2024-25 season due to to complications with his eligibility, which delayed his arrival until January.

With ADA Blois of the France Pro A U-21 League, Dimande averaged 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.8 steals per game. He also played for the Ivory Coast senior team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification, a tie-in to former Cougar and current grad assistant Charles Abouo.

Senior leaders: The seniors (and grad students) that are out of eligibility shared their thoughts in the post-game news conference.

“Me and Trev were talking about how sticking it out really grows your character and it makes the wins even sweeter,” Stewart said. “We’ve been through a lot, like the conference change, everything. A lot of adversity in our careers. But we’ve stayed the course. Then now how the season went, we just had an immense amount of joy and so much gratitude for how it ended. We just have a lot of gratitude.”

Knell said, “Yeah, I’ll echo exactly what Trey said. It’s been awesome to represent BYU on my chest the last six years. BYU is my family. As soon as I knew Coach was getting the job, I wanted to post it just to let everybody know that I was all in.

“I feel like we’re kind of a catalyst to where BYU is going, and I’m excited to see the trajectory of where this program is going. This family that we have now at BYU is going to last a lifetime. I’m super grateful to Cougar Nation, to my family, everything. Just a ton of gratitude for the opportunity to be able to play for this program.

Traore: “Yeah, I would say the same thing. I’ll always be grateful for BYU. They changed my life forever. Actually it was one of the best things ever to happen to me, so I’ll always be a Coug fan.”

Mag, who transferred from Rutgers for his final college season, said, “It means everything just being a Cougar, just the pride and also just the environment. The fans are always engaged. It means a lot to me. I’m glad I came here and I finished my college career at BYU.

It’s who you play: Four of BYU’s 10 losses were to teams in the Elite Eight (two to Houston, one to Texas Tech and one to Alabama).