KANSAS CITY — At their first Big 12 men’s basketball media day two years ago, the BYU Cougars were nothing more than a novelty, a newcomer, and about the only attention the program got came when then-coach Mark Pope admitted to everyone that he was a Taylor Swift fan.
Of course, the Cougars getting picked 13th — the singer’s favorite number, apparently — had something to do with that.
Last year, BYU got a little bit more attention, what with Kevin Young coming in from his role in the NBA and explaining how the Cougars expected to be Big 12 title contenders in his first year.
Fast forward to BYU’s third Big 12 media day, which took place Wednesday at T-Mobile Center. Having been picked to finish second in the league in 2025-26, a spot behind Final Two entrant Houston, BYU drew considerably more attention in downtown Kansas City.
Only Kansas and Kansas State, from nearby Lawrence (40 miles) and Manhattan (121 miles), respectively, attracted bigger throngs of reporters.
Of course, having the nation’s No. 1 recruit from last November’s signing class, AJ Dybantsa, will do that for a program, regardless of where it is picked to finish.
Speaking of the potential No. 1 pick in next June’s NBA draft, Dybantsa also got in the last public word after six hours of talking and posing for pictures.
Asked to sum up BYU basketball in one word when Young and teammates Rob Wright III and Richie Saunders were sitting beside him on the big stage, Dybantsa replied:
“Unselfish.”
That drew a big smile from Young, who was considerably more relaxed than last year when he made his debut at this event and only knew one other head coach in the building that day, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd.
“Just a little more comfort (this year),” Young said. “You know, I am not the total outcast. Still somewhat of an outcast, but at least some familiarity.”
Suffice it to say, the other 15 coaches in the league know who he is now, after the Cougars placed fourth last year in league play and made a run to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011.
Dybantsa’s short summation was also music to the ears of new athletic director Brian Santiago, who accompanied the group to the City of Fountains and provided a lighthearted moment to the proceedings when he engaged in a little game of one-on-one with Dybantsa on a mini-hoop on the floor of the T-Mobile Center.
“There’s never been a better time to be part of BYU than right now,” Santiago said, noting that BYU football is ranked 11th and undefeated and BYU men’s basketball starts the season ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. “We are going to choose greatness together. We are going to chase dreams together.”
Young said the decision to bring Dybantsa, Wright (the transfer point guard from Baylor) and Saunders to Kansas City when it usually shies away from bringing newcomers to events such as this was “somewhat of a collaboration” between the school and the athletic department, but it was clearly a hit. Dybantsa and Wright handled the media opportunities with deftness and aplomb and Saunders was his usual engaging, thoughtful self.
“Call it for what it is,” Young said. “They are the three headliners, probably our three best players. I am sure people want to hear what they have to say.”
Cougars leaning into lofty expectations again
Young embraced the high expectations last year when he got the job to replace Pope, and nothing has changed in 2025 when the forecasts are even more favorable; however, when it was suggested that this is a “Final Four or bust” kind of season for the Cougars, he stopped short of acknowledging that that is the goal.
“I mean, I want our guys to have a great practice tomorrow, right? I want us to come in and get better from whatever film I show tomorrow and then come back the next day and do the same thing. I know it sounds really cliche, and coachy,” he said. “But that’s how I live my life. That’s how I’ve always coached. And I think that’s the only way you can really get better. The good thing for us is we have guys in our program that (have been through it).
“You know, it wasn’t all peaches and cream last year. We had to pound the rock. We had to stack day after day after day,” Young said. “And Richie knows that, Keba (Keita) knows that. Dawson (Baker) knows that. Mihailo (Boskovic) knows it. Jared McGregor knows it. All my coaches know it, and they’re helping the new guys understand that’s how we operate. I don’t care if we’re picked dead last or first. It doesn’t matter. That’s how we do it, and I’ve made that very clear to our players.”
Saunders, a preseason all-Big 12 selection, along with Dybantsa, said although they are not shying away from expectations, there is an increased emphasis on ignoring preseason prognostications. Saunders said Young took the entire team into the Marriott Center recently and showed them a clip of Kevin Garnett’s commercial for a headphones company about blocking out noise.
“Coach Young has talked a lot about blocking out the noise, just focusing on what we got to do to get better,” Saunders said. “… He said look at this like all these guys yelling and screaming, whatever. The outside stuff does not impact us internally. We thought that was cool.”
Dybantsa concurred, saying he has deleted his social media accounts and has “a team that runs a lot of that stuff to keep my brand.”
Added Wright: “Everyone knows we are a preseason top-10 team, so we are just trying to be locked in and know we have to get better if we want to be the team that’s winning at the end of the season.”
Young on the Big 12, building a roster, and more
As is the case at every Big 12 basketball media day, the league’s coaches love to proclaim it as the best in the country. Wednesday was no different.
“The league is the best it has ever been,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “It’s been really good over time. With the new additions to our league, it is even better. It is a monster.”
Houston’s Kelvin Sampson said the league is so deep that the eighth, ninth or 10th-place finisher could get to the Sweet 16.
Young said in the coaches roundtable portion of the event that his first year in the league taught him that every coach in the conference is outstanding.
“I am going to steal one of coach Sampson’s lines,” Young said. “It is not the Toy Poodle League, as he said last year. He is right, man. This is a man’s game in this league. That was something that I learned quickly last year.
“For me, almost every Big 12 game feels like a tournament game. So you gotta bring it every night.
It ups my game and it makes our players’ sense of urgency have to raise every time we have to go play against somebody on this stage. It is great.”
Asked what the conversations were like inside the building as BYU moved on from last year’s loss to Alabama in a Sweet 16 game in New Jersey and talked about going beyond that in 2026, Young said everything revolved around Dybantsa and Saunders once Saunders said he was coming back.
“We obviously had a big hole at the point guard position when Egor (Demin) decided to go the NBA. And so in short order we wanted to make sure we get the point guard situation addressed, which obviously we did with one of the most dynamic guards in the country, in Rob Wright.
“Then we felt like we wanted to go out and just add even more shooting experience and perimeter defense to our group. If you look at the moves we made in the portal, that’s what we did. Getting Kennard Davis was a big portal addition for us. We feel, I think he’s going to be one of the best 3-and-D wings in the country this year.”
