It's a nearly impossible task to set realistic expectations for a BYU basketball team under Kevin Young. It's proved to be the case after the first edition of a Young-constructed roster exceeded expectations and lifted to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, only to be followed by the number-one player in the nation and his supporting tandem of All-Big 12 honoree Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III failing to escape the first round from the exact same March Madness seeding position.
Here we stand at the dawn of the third season under Kevin Young, and we have very little indication of just how good this year's team could be.
BYU's overall recruiting class in 2026 is ranked 32nd in the nation, a significant drop after being ranked 27th and then 4th (still crazy to think about) in 2024 and 2025. There's still work to do, and the roster is far from complete, but as it stands today, the Cougars have their worst recruiting class in the Kevin Young era.
Gulp.
Yes, bringing Bruce Branch III, a 5-star talent like Dybantsa and Demin before him, in is a major step in the right direction. But he's a player who is still developing into his body, and has some room to grow as far as refining his skill set is concerned.
Then there's Dean Rueckert, a standout from the Beehive State and the highest-rated LDS recruit in BYU basketball history. His contribution to the team could be critical to BYU's ceiling this season, but as a true freshman with plenty of strength left to add to his upper-body, it could be a while before Rueckert is fully unleashed.
As far as traditional recruits go, that's it. Two players -- even a five-star and elite talent like Branch with a four-star wing in Rueckert -- do not make a very well-rounded team.
The Cougars have built a strong supporting cast around him, though, starting with retaining Robert Wright III (an addition the ranking doesn't take into account, despite the fact that he entered the transfer portal). According to Coach Young, Wright is the best point guard in all of college basketball, and he's the only returning starter from last season's team.
Arriving through the portal is Collin Chandler -- once the highest-rated recruit in program history before following Mark Pope to Kentucky -- Tyler Betsey, Jake Wahlin, and Adam Stewart.
A center will have to join this team at some point, but whether that's a highly coveted player like Luigi Suigo or a more under-the-radar addition like Xu Xin could drastically alter the outlook of this team.
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