A potential Kansas State hoops recruit could have $9 million in zero funds

The good news is that the Kansas State Wildcats basketball program is in contention for top recruit AJ Dybantsa.

The bad news is that if he decides to sign with the Wildcats, it will cost a lot.

Longtime college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman said Dybantssa will cost a pretty penny for the school he gets. He talked about it on The Field of 68 podcast.

“I mean, it’s expensive, a lot of money,” Goodman said. “You have no idea. I don’t know for sure, but I heard numbers I never thought I would hear.”

Dybantsa is the No. 1 player in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-2 Dybantsa, who averaged 22.6 points in the Elite Youth Basketball League, is already considered the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Wildcats coach Jerome Tang has made a habit of pursuing top players. The best thing is that it gets her attention. They are also competing for Darryn Peterson and Cam Ward, who are also among the top players in the country.

Dybantsa is expected to involve high costs.

“Next year it could be somewhere between $7 million and $9 million, numbers I’m hearing right now,” Goodman said. “That can’t be proven yet either. Nothing’s been done yet and revenue sharing isn’t in effect yet, so that could change a little bit, but those numbers are going to be pretty high.”

Shandel Richardson is editor of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]

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