It should come as no surprise that true freshmen have the ability to make an immediate impact in College Basketball. We’ve seen it time and time again and most recently Duke F Cooper Flagg shocked the NCAA last season, garnering All-American Honors and leading the Blue Devils to the Final 4 before being selected #1 in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Over the past week, it became apparent who the next freshman phenoms will be: Duke F Cameron Boozer and BYU F AJ Dybantsa.
On Saturday, October 18, the Dybantsa lead Cougars traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska and showcased their explosive offense for the first time. Despite coming off the bench, the former #2 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class led BYU in minutes with 32 on the afternoon. The 6 foot 9 star from St. Sebastian’s School (MA.) recorded the following stat line in his NCAA debut:
32 Minutes*
30 Points*
7 Rebounds
3 Assists
3 Steals
10/19 FG
2/4 3PT
8/8 FT*
*denotes team high
Unfortunately for AJ Dybantsa and the BYU Cougars, they’d ultimately fall 90-89 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
As for Cameron Boozer and the Duke Blue Devils, things definitely fared better on Tuesday, October 21. Boozer, the former #3 recruit in the Country, was electric in his debut at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and showed that he could be the next up in the long history of elite true freshman campaigns for Duke. The 6 foot 9 big man from Miami, FL. put on a masterclass vs the Central Florida (UCF) Knights, recording the following stat line:
33 Points*
12 Rebounds *
4 Assists
12/19 FG
*denotes team high
Both Duke and Brigham Young have very obviously secured two of the rawest basketball prospects we’ve seen in a while, and the accolades are already flying in for the pair.
Earlier this week- the Associated Press named AJ Dybantsa as a Pre-Season All American, joining the likes of Purdue’s Braden Smith, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeburg and Florida’s Alex Condon. Dybantsa was also named to Pre-Season All-BIG12 Honors.
As for Cameron Boozer, while the four time State Champ from Miami Columbus may have been snubbed from the All-American accolades, but was named as the ACC’s Pre-Season Rookie of the Year, and secured a slot on the Pre-Season All-ACC team.
One thing’s for certain- we WILL be hearing both Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa’s names called very early in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Cover Photo Credits: Duke Athletics
