When the 2025-26 men’s basketball campaign began, Kevin Young’s team was ranked in the Top 10 and national media outlets saw them as a possible Final Four participant.

With a big three of freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa, sophomore transfer Robert Wright III and senior Richie Saunders, the Cougars looked the part, especially through November and December. While they were together, Dybantsa, Saunders and Wright were one of the highest scoring trios in college basketball.

The dream lived on through a 16-1 start, BYU rising as high as No. 7 in the AP polls. That great start eventually turned into a 7-11 finish and everything came to an end on Thursday in Portland, where the Cougars trailed Texas for more than 39 minutes in a 79-71 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“In a lot of ways it was a microcosm of our season,” Young said. “We faced a lot of challenges this year, just like we did in this game. We battled back. That’s the mantra of this group. They never quit. I’m really proud of the group. It hurts obviously seeing Richie over there in his street clothes. He’s been the heart and soul of our program since I took this job. I love him.”

So what went wrong?

First, the uncontrollable: Early season injuries to veteran Dawson Baker, transfer Nate Pickens and sophomore Brody Kozlowski took a big bite out of BYU’s depth. BYU also lost freshman center Xavion Staton to injury after nine games. On Valentine’s Day, Saunders went down with a season-ending ACL tear against Colorado.

But there were other issues, areas where the Cougars needed to be much better. BYU shot just 35 percent from the 3-point line, with only one player in the rotation (Wright at 41%) finishing better than 40%. BYU also struggled defensively while posting a 9-9 record in Big 12 play, giving up 90-plus points five times and surrendering nearly 83 points per game. Another problem was the other guys seemed to spend a lot of time standing around watching Dybantsa do his thing, leading to long scoring droughts.

Proof in the numbers: BYU averaged 13.3 assists per game, the lowest number for the Cougars in 21 years (2004-05, 12.3 assists per game).

A home victory against No. 10 Texas Tech in the season finale and two wins in the Big 12 Tournament provided some hope for Cougar fans heading into the tournament, but Texas exploited every BYU weakness.

“This has been a tough year, given the cards that we’ve been dealt,” Young said. “But I’m proud of the group sticking to it and just their grit. I thought they really came together and it was fun to see. I think they felt themselves coming together. And that was that was rewarding. Anytime you’re in this spot at the end of the season, it is a bit of a double-edged sword, with the emotion.”

Will he stay or will he go?

Dybantsa, the No. 1 recruit in the country, was everything he was expected to be and more in his freshman season. He led the NCAA in scoring (25.5) and provided highlight reel moments in just about every game. He was also an ambassador for the BYU program, singing the praises of Young’s system and his college experience.

“I love this place,” Dybantsa said. “I’m happy I chose here. I definitely made the right decision. I knew coming in I made the right decision. Ever since my visit with the coaching staff, how it’s just a family atmosphere, talking to the academic adviser, everything about this place, I’m just happy. As far as the season, it’s tough dealing with that type of adversity, but I’d rather do it with nobody else.”

Dybantsa scored 25 points in a stirring comeback against No. 2 UConn that fell just short in an 86-84 loss at Madison Square Garden. He posted a triple-double against Eastern Washington (33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), scored 43 points in a win against rival Utah and 40 in a victory against Kansas State, on his way to breaking the Big 12 Tournament freshman scoring record held by his idol, Kevin Durant.

Dybantsa would be an obvious lottery selection in June’s NBA Draft, perhaps even the No. 1 pick. In interviews he has hinted that there is a possibility he might return for his sophomore season, but that seems unlikely considering his draft prospects.

“I’m just going to talk to my family, my mom, ultimately,” Dybantsa said. “She kind of is the big boss. She kind of makes the decisions in life. Just talk to her, see what she says. Y’all will get an answer in the next couple weeks.”

Young is trying to be realistic about his young superstar.

“I mean, look, if he wants to come back next year, obviously, we’d welcome him with open arms,” Young said. “You guys now have been around AJ long enough. What a joy for all of us, truth be told, to watch what he did this year. And so if it’s his last game, I just wish him well. For me, I think the coolest thing about coaching is just the relationship that you get to build with guys for years and years and years to come.

“From my time in the league, like when Chris Paul retired, me and my family sent him a video message. He sends one right back to us. Book (NBA star Devin Booker) is wearing the BYU P’s (shoes) in a game. Egor (Demin) hit me up right on tournament time, and now AJ is going to be doing the same thing. That’s such a cool thing about getting to do the job that I get to do. It’s a little bit bittersweet, but the job I have now, I’m still able to stay connected in a way that allows me to do it with just younger guys now, to see their growth at the next level. So that that, for me, is really cool, and I look forward to doing that with him.”

Looking forward

Trying to predict what the roster will look like next season is a fool’s errand. NIL and the transfer portal assures there will be changes.

“I think it’s unfair, in a lot of ways, to judge the roster construction of this team just because it was literally five season-ending injuries, right?” Young said. “Four of those five were all guys that can knock shots down. We built this roster specifically towards AJ and Richie, and then that’s where we went out and got Rob. Those guys need shooting around them, period, end of story.

“I couldn’t even sometimes bear to watch the film, honestly, offensively, because our spacing was so funky, just stuff I was not comfortable with. But you’re trying your best to do it with what you got. I’ve been very clear since I’ve taken this job, shooting is the Holy Grail. Bottom line, you’ve got to be able to make shots at a high level. We didn’t have enough guys that could do that this year. I think in the Big 12, specifically, you have to mix that with some rugged guys as well. That’s just how our league is. But there’s just no substitute for shooting.”

Dybantsa, one of the top NBA prospect in the world, would seem to be a mortal lock for jumping to the next level, despite teasing that he “might” come back.

Saunders, center Keba Keita, forward Mahailo Boskovic and walk-on Jared McGregor were honored on Senior Night, so you would expect those four players to be moving on.

One of the top junior college players in the country, 6-foot-3 guard KJ Perry, joined the roster in January and redshirted. The Cougars will add five-star prospect Bruce Branch, a 6-foot-7 forward from Prolific Prep in Florida and 6-8 Timpview rising star Dean Rueckert.

Young would love to retain Wright, his second-leading scorer (18.1 ppg). Promising 3-point shooter Akeksej Kostic and energetic defenders Khadim Mboup and Dominique Diomande would seem to have a place on next year’s roster. Pickens should be healthy enough to play next season and Baker appears to want to apply for an injury redshirt year.

There are likely players on this year’s roster who will be asked to move on to make room for the recruiting class or transfer portal additions as well. Such is the nature of college basketball right now.

“The rules are ever changing,” Young said. “The landscape is ever changing. We try to stay on top of it the best that we can. So we’ll have some deep reflection on just what the roster looks like for next year, who we think is going to come back from this year’s team. They all have choices as well. That’s the thing that is so different. In the NBA, you get multi-year deals. Here, every year is a contract year. So it makes it really challenging.

“But the good news is we’re not the only one. Every team is going to go through the same thing. What I learned last year is that the portal season, if you want to call it that, it’s a ‘buckle up’ type deal, man. It’s a long grind. Luckily, the portal is shorter this year, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”