Projecting the Starting Lineup in Kevin Young's Second Season at BYU

The BYU basketball roster is coming together. On Friday, BYU picked up a commitment from Southern Illinois transfer Kennard Davis Jr. With Davis on board, BYU only has a few more scholarships available for next season. Today, we're projecting the starting lineup and the rotation for the second year under Kevin Young.

The Starting Lineup

BYU's starting lineup will feature a lot of new faces. As of this writing, we're projecting three of the five starters to be newcomers.

1. Rob Wright III
2. Kennard Davis Jr.
3. AJ Dybansta
4. Richie Saunders
5. Keba Keita

First and foremost, Richie Saunders is included in our projections. Saunders has not announced his plans to return for next season, but in these projections, we are assuming he will. Getting Saunders back would be a massive boost to the roster next season. Saunders would be the most proven scorer on the team at the Big 12 level, and he can efficienctly score without requiring too many shot attempts. Saunders could cement himself as one of the best to ever do it at BYU in 2025-2026.

Five-star Baylor transfer Rob Wright is a lock to start at the point guard spot. Wright scored 11.5 points per game as a true freshman at Baylor. He will be a critical piece on BYU's roster.

AJ Dybansta, the projected top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, is also a lock to start. You don't bring in the nation's top prospect and not start him. Dybansta will start and he has the potential to be one of the best scorers in college basketball.

Unsurprisingly, Keba Keita will start at center. Keita got better and better as the season progressed and he was a critical part of BYU's rise at the end of last season. Keita will be the beneficiary of many lobs around the rim as opposing defenses focus their attention on Dybansta, Saunders, and Wright.

Kennard Davis Jr. fills the final spot in the starting lineup. Kennard had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2024-2025. He averaged 16.3 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game, and 1.3 steals per game. He was named the most improved player in the Missouri Valley Conference and he was a second team All-Conference selection. He could also be the best on-ball defender in BYU's starting lineup.

The Rotation

BYU isn't done adding pieces to the roster. As of this writing, BYU won't be as deep as they were last year. The bench contributors consist of Dawson Baker, Mihailo Boskovic, and Dominique Diomande.

1. Dawson Baker
2. Mihailo Boskovic
3. Dominique Diomande

Miahilo Boskovic is going to play a critical role for BYU next season. He is currently the only big with experience behind Keba Keita. If there's one area of concern on BYU's roster right now, it would be the depth of the front court. BYU needs Keita to stay healthy.

Dawson Baker will give BYU a scoring punch with his ability to create and get to the rim.

There are two other young players that could crack the rotation next season: Xavion Stanton and Brody Kozlowski.Stanton is one of the nation's top centers in the 2025 recruiting class, and Kozlowski is a former four-star recruit. If either of them is ready to play next season, BYU's depth will be much more comfortable.