BYU is searching for a big center to fill out its roster, but in the meantime, there’s a trend worth mentioning because it’s rare for the Cougars.
As it stands today, one online ranking has Kevin Young and his staff with the No. 10-ranked recruiting class in 2026.
This is behind No. 1 Arkansas, Duke, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Alabama, and Oklahoma State, which is third in the Big 12, ahead of No. 13 Arizona.
The center or centers BYU seeks to fill out its roster will likely be a transfer portal product or an international player.
In the meantime, chatting with some folks the other day, there is a trend with this year’s class which is, well, kind of unique for BYU basketball.
The Cougars have added three portal transfers from three Power Four schools in one stretch of announcements this spring. They come from the SEC and ACC.
That’s new. Even for Kevin Young.
The players are Kentucky transfer guard Collin Chandler, Syracuse stretch forward Tyler Betsey and Clemson forward Jake Wahlin.
Now of course, BYU has had spot signings during recruiting years from P4 schools before, but three in a month?
BYU has most recently signed P4 transfer players such as Jaxson Robinson (Arkansas), Alex Barcello (Arizona), Chase Fischer (Wake Forest), Robert Wright III (Baylor) and Matt Haarms (Purdue), but those players have been over many seasons.
It’s more normal for the Cougars to go down a level and hit Group of Five or junior college transfers like Dawson Baker (UC Irvine), KJ Perry (Citrus Community College), Stephen Rogers (Mesa Community College), Elijah Bryant (Elon), Jake Toolson and Brandon Averette (Utah Valley), Spencer Johnson (Salt Lake Community College), Kennard Davis (Southern Illinois), Tyler Mrus (Idaho) and Gideon George (New Mexico Junior College) to name a few.
You can see the difference from where BYU got players in the Dave Rose and Mark Pope eras compared with just one month this year by Young.
And yes, it remains to be seen if P4 transfers Wahlin, Betsey and Chandler deliver what is expected for Young this coming season. But they will certainly provide experienced depth from highly competitive leagues, and each brings unique abilities the Cougars noticeably missed a year ago outside of the work by AJ Dybantsa and Richie Saunders. Wahlin, Betsey and Chandler can shoot.
On the other ledger, there was another trend set the past few weeks. Four of six players from BYU’s roster last year have found homes in P4 programs. That’s unusual.
Center Xavion Staton ended up at Pac-12 Oregon State, Dominique Diomande went to Pittsburgh, Aleksej Kostic signed at Northwestern, Kennard Davis will play at Missouri and center G-League player Abdullah Ahmed just signed to play at UMass.
As BYU seeks a center, it should be noted that the Cougars did receive a commitment from TCU center Adam Stewart, who played high school ball for Utah Prep Academy, but he is a native of Texas and isn’t expected to play much.
This past week BYU hosted 5-star high school center Obinna Ekezie Jr., and he included the Cougars in his final five schools under consideration, but on Sunday he committed to Louisville.
Incoming freshman Bruce Branch III is reportedly helping BYU recruit players he knows from the national AAU circuit he played for with Prolific Prep in California. One is 6-foot-11 shotblocking machine Lewis Uvwo who is in the Class of 2027.
Uvno, a four-star recruit, is moving up the white boards of major schools, and BYU could be in the mix.
These players are looking at and visiting BYU these days. That’s a trend worth noting in this crazy time of college basketball where anything can happen.
And usually does, if you consider AJ Dybantsa, the projected No. 1 NBA draft pick in June just finished a year at BYU.