No, the college basketball offseason isn't officially over quite yet, but for Kevin Young and BYU basketball, it's probably a good time to take a breather. After all, this past offseason was packed full of enough stress to make a David Hasselhoff-type go completely bald, so the Cougars' staff should enjoy a well-deserved break before moving into preparation for the upcoming season.
It was an offseason of tremendous success, of horrific anxiety, and of incredible good fortune, but most important of all: it was an offseason that may have layed the groundwork for the best BYU basketball roster in history.
I don't say that lightly, and not to get ahead of myself, but the late addition of fifth-year center Jaxon Kohler has mended some incredibly concerning leaks in the Good Ship Brigham.
With all of that in mind, I want to tear apart BYU basketball's rollercoaster offseason, evaluate some of the biggest developments, and grade the Cougars' summer in one giant report card.
Take your seats, everyone; class is in session.
Grading BYU basketball's recruting and offseason piece by piece
Player retention: C+
Players kept: Robert Wright III, Dawson Baker, Nate Pickens, Khadim Mboup, Brody Kozlowski
Players lost: AJ Dybantsa, Keba Keita, Richie Saunders, Kennard Davis Jr., Xavion Staton, Dominique Diomande, KJ Perry, Tyler Mrus, Aleksej Kostic, Abdullah Ahmed
We'll all be incredibly grateful to have Robert Wright III back again in Provo, and though he was this close to signing with Mark Pope and Kentucky, he returned home, and now BYU has a potential All-American on the roster.
Dawson Baker, Nate Pickens, and Khadim Mboup will all likely return in their bench roles from a season ago (if Baker and Pickens can stay healthy, of course), and Khadim Mboup is Kevin Young's wild card contributor. Thankfully, the newly-constructed roster won't be forced to rely on these players to win games for them as they'll serve as crucial depth against the physically demanding squads in the Big 12 Conference.
Brody Kozlowski also returns, and will hopefully stay healthy long enough to actually play -- we've seen frighteningly little of the former four-star recruit.
Keeping AJ Dybantsa at BYU was a pipe dream from the moment he announced his commitment, and doubly so when he became the clear favorite for the number-one pick in the NBA Draft. The same goes for Richie Saunders and Keba Keita, both of whom could have technically returned with a fifth year of eligibility granted via injunction this offseason: they technically could have returned, but no one should hold it against Kevin Young for not getting them back.
Kennard Davis is arguably the biggest loss through the transfer portal, as a starter from last year who just struggled to thrive in an off-ball role, shooting below 33% for most of the year and only providing reliable offense in a handful of games. BYU loses a lot by letting the idea of Kennard Davis Jr. slip away; they lose less when considering his lack of production in Provo. Hopefully he can find a better fit with Mizzou.
BYU also lost Tyler Mrus and Aleksej Kostic to the portal, two players who struggled to find a groove with the team, save for a few outburst performances from Kostic.
Losing Xavion Staton stings after we only got to see him appear in a few games this past year, and Dominique Diomande was the team's greatest X-factor in the Big 12 Tournament, completing a windmill dunk in two consecutive games, including as a capper to the Cougars' excellent first half against Houston.
KJ Perry wasn't going to stick around. Nor was Abdullah Ahmed after his incredibly disappointing year in Provo concluded with him as perhaps public enemy number one; he'll play at UMass this season.
Last year's team needed to be wiped clean, and Kevin Young has done just that. Unfortunately, that means this year's team will need to learn to share the court for the first time.
NBA sendoffs: A+
NBA Draft Picks: AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders
Kevin Young arrived at BYU with a promise to prepare players for a career in the NBA. Now, with two years under his belt, he's managed to send three players to the draft.
AJ Dybantsa was the number-one recruit in the freshman class of 2025, and the number-one pick in the Draft. That's a major success for BYU's development program, and demonstrated evidence of Kevin Young's legitimacy after seeing Dybantsa slip in the eyes of many from the obvious first pick to perhaps the third-best prospect in the class halfway through the year. The pair made corrections and Dybantsa finished the year incredibly strong.
Richie Saunders is a homegrown talent taken with the 32nd overall pick. He'll play for the Memphis Grizzlies next season, assuming his ACL rehab goes well. Saunders played four seasons in Provo, was recruited out of a local high school (Riverton, Wasatch Academy), served a full-time mission, and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He's as traditional a BYU recruit as they come.
It's a testament to BYU's program, and the system installed by Kevin Young, that two players with vastly different career paths were both drafted out of BYU.
Keba Keita caught some buzz from scouts at the NBA level, but received no offers for an undrafted free agent deal or a G-League spot. He's currently pursuing a fifth year of college basketball.
Traditional recruiting: A-
Incoming freshmen: Bruce Branch III, Dean Reuckert, Brooks Bahr
Though traditional recruiting isn't quite as vital as it was a decade ago, BYU basketball managed to haul in a handful of very high quality freshmen prospects, even if the quantity was a bit lacking.
Bruce Branch III is the third five-star freshman to sign with BYU basketball since Kevin Young took over (in as many years), and extends Young's perfect batting average for another season. Branch aims to go one-and-done like Demin and Dybantsa, and will likewise wear the number 3, which is becoming something of a legendary digit in Provo.
Dean Rueckert is the best local recruit arriving in Provo this year, as a four-star talent out of Timpview High School. He's a talented scorer and playmaker, but his physicality will need to improve before he reaches his full potential in Provo. Look forward to seeing Rueckert make an impact off the bench, and don't be surprised if he has a few breakout performances.
Brooks Bahr, while technically arriving as a freshman this year following his two-year missionary service, isn't a member of this year's recruiting class. Still, he could provide some incredibly valueable minutes as a backup guard behind Wright and Pickens.
More on Dovydas Buika, an international freshman, in a later section.
Transfer Portal: A-
Incoming transfers: Collin Chandler, Tyler Betsey, Jake Wahlin, Jaxon Kohler
There is a lot to love about how BYU has reconstructed its basketball team this offseason. It's well-balanced, talent is complementary, and players' usage should be evenly spread in a beautiful synergy.
At least on paper, this team is the perfect blend of Kevin Young's first two seasons. The depth and balance of 2024-25, and the high-level talent of 2025-26 (minus an AJ Dybantsa-type superstar, of course).
Collin Chandler was once the highest-rated recruit in BYU's program history before he followed Mark Pope to Kentucky. The prodigal son's return is one to be celebrated, as he brings experience, deadeye marksmanship from the three-point line, and excellent athleticism to the lineup.
Tyler Betsey is another sniper from distance, as he shot 44% from beyond the arc during ACC play last season at Syracuse.
Jake Wahlin should be a natural leader in Provo. He was a local recruit in high school who ultimately decided to commit to Utah before transferring to Clemson. He faced off against BYU while on both teams. Now, he'll serve as a veteran and a steadying pillar for the team, and a valuable addition at the forward position.
Technically, even Robert Wright III's return is a win in the transfer portal category, but we already addressed his value to this year's roster.
But the ultimate prize this offseason was Jaxon Kohler, a sweet-shooting, shot-blocking, big man with defensive presence and quality leadership experience as a team captain for Tom Izzo's Michigan State team last season. Young lucked into Kohler, who became available thanks to a recent injunction that granted the class of 2022 a fifth year of eligibility in line with the NCAA's new five-in-five rule.
Kohler completes the team's starting lineup, and though the Cougars were sitting ducks if he hadn't suddenly become available, BYU won his commitment against the biggest names in college basketball, and becomes a contender in the Big 12 thanks to that fact.
International recruiting: B-
Incoming recruits: Dovydas Buika, Jakub Urbaniak
The international market is becoming an increasingly common recruiting pool for college basketball, and Kevin Young is no stranger to picking up talent from overseas (Egor Demin, Mihailo Boskovic, Aleksej Kostic).
This season, BYU will add two international prospects: Jakub Urbaniak, a 6'9" center from Poland, and Dovydas Buika, a freshman guard from Lithuania.
Urbaniak arrived in Provo as the presumed solution for the vacancy at the center position, though is admittedly better-served as a backup big man behind Jaxon Kohler. In fact, Urbaniak will provide excellent support as perhaps one of the most dependable and experienced reserves in the Big 12.
Buika, however, is a bit more of an unknown. A loose mound of clay on Kevin Young's spinning wheel. Though his athletic burst and measurables aren't exactly jaw-dropping, Buika holds the potential to blossom into a point-forward type of prospect. A jumbo point guard (not entirely unlike Egor Demin) who can orchestrate the offense and create a bit for himself. His minutes could be inconsistent as a freshman, but Buika's journey will be one to watch at BYU this year.
Kevin Young's recruiting net was cast world-wide this season, with prospects from China to Africa all falling onto BYU's radar -- specifically in the search for a starting center. Be it eligibility concerns, NIL budget issues, or a bad fit overall, Buika and Urbaniak were the only international players to commit to BYU.
Teambuilding: A
No matter how it came to fruition, this is a roster that just makes sense.
It's stuffed with talent that is both complimentary and self-sufficient. No longer will Kevin Young be forced to roll out lineups that are more Blowfish than Hootie -- BYU basketball is rich with talent in 2026.
Robert Wright III, Bruce Branch III, and Jaxon Kohler are some of the most talented players in the entire Big 12, and they'll share the floor with Collin Chandler, a starter with Kentucky last season, Tyler Betsey, a deadeye shooter, Jake Wahlin, a high-flying athlete with touch and experience, Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens, two dynamic and dependable bench scorers.
It's a BYU basketball team with very few visible weaknesses, and one that could cause some serious damage during March.
Final grade: A-
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