Highly touted forward AJ Dybantsa might have his mind made up ahead of schedule.

"The original plan was to commit in February," he said to ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi. "The visits stopped in October. We wanted to make sure we had enough time to see all the schools play. We are ahead of where we thought we would be. If I know where I want to go, why wait?

"It's probably going to be in December. I feel I will be ready by then."

Dybantsa is the No. 1 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2025 class. Travis Branham of 247Sports has predicted he'll sign with BYU.

Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports' director of scouting, projects the 6'9" small forward to be a top-10 pick when he's eligible for the NBA draft.

"Dybantsa possesses a lethal pull-up game with a high release and a smooth ball rotation. He's been a celebrated prospect since before he entered high school," Finkelstein wrote. "Yet he has avoided the pitfalls of early stardom by consistently improving his game at each level. He was the leading scorer in the 2023 Peach Jam as an underclassman and shows flashes of untapped potential on defense thanks to his size and movement skills.

"The bottom line is this: Dybantsa controls his own future. If he continues on his current path, then there's no one in high school basketball with more potential than him."

Per Borzello and Biancardi, Dybantsa has Alabama, Auburn, North Carolina, Kansas and Kansas State on his list of candidates along with BYU. None of those stands to gain more than the Cougars in terms of what his commitment would mean in the bigger picture.

Losing Mark Pope to Kentucky couldn't have been timed much worse for the program as it continues to cement itself as a contender in the Big 12. This is BYU's second year in the conference.

The early returns from the Kevin Young era on the recruiting trail are encouraging, though. Young signed Egor Demin, a 5-star combo guard, and Kanon Catchings, a 4-star power forward. For 2025, the school already has commitments from a pair of 4-star recruits, center Xavion Staton and Chamberlain Burgess.

Adding Dybantsa to that group would be a huge coup for BYU and a strong endorsement of Young's overall vision.