AJ Dybantsa plays most of his basketball out west these days, but he’ll play two games in his home state to finish his high school career this season. Dybantsa, the Brockton, Mass. native and No. 1-ranked recruit nationally in the 2025 class, will return to Boston as he leads Utah Prep in a showdown against...
AJ Dybantsa plays most of his basketball out west these days, but he’ll play two games in his home state to finish his high school career this season.
Dybantsa, the Brockton, Mass. native and No. 1-ranked recruit nationally in the 2025 class, will return to Boston as he leads Utah Prep in a showdown against Highland School (Va.) on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Emmanuel College. The game will pit Dybantsa against the nation’s No. 4-ranked recruit Nate Ament, a 6-foot-9 forward from Virginia.
The game is being sponsored by The Grind Session, a new circuit that hosts elite high school basketball events throughout the country.
Tickets will be sold at the door for Dybantsa’s game at Emmanuel, where an excited crowd should be expected to fill up the school’s gym that seats around 1,400. It’s a rare opportunity for local fans to catch Dybantsa, who’s expected to be a top pick in the 2026 NBA draft. He last played in Boston last January, when he returned to lead Prolific Prep to a win over Orangeville Prep in a game at BC High.
Dybantsa spent his freshman season at St. Sebastian’s in Needham before transferring to Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., and reclassifying from the 2026 class to 2025. He spent one season there before announcing his transfer this summer to Utah Prep, where they’ve already started an international schedule that included a trip to China in August. Utah Prep, formerly known as RSL Academy, became its own entity two years ago as it moved to a state-of-the-art 55-acre campus in Hurricane, Utah.
Dybantsa will have a busy winter at Utah Prep as he makes his highly-anticipated college decision. He made his final official visit last weekend at BYU after also making trips to Kansas State, Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama. He’s expected to make his choice in February.
Dybantsa and Utah Prep will also play a game at the annual Hoophall Classic at Springfield College on Jan. 19, which is expected to be against Montverde Academy (Fla.). That will mark his final high school game in New England before he heads to college next fall.
