Projecting the Starting Lineup, Rotation for the BYU Basketball Program

After a long search that started as soon as last season ended, BYU finally landed a center on Tuesday. Kevin Young and his staff added Jakub Urbaniak from Poland. The Cougars still have a few roster spots to fill, but for the most part, the BYU basketball roster is coming together.

The Starting Lineup

BYU returns only one starter from last season: Robert Wright III. Wright is expected to be one of the best scorer's in the conference, and Kevin Young believes Wright can be the best point guard in college basketball.

Kentucky transfer Collin Chandler and five-star true freshman Bruce Branch III are also scheduled to start for Kevin Young next season. Chandler was the most important pickup in the transfer portal after spending the last two years at Kentucky. Chandler will be able to space the floor as he was one of the best shooters in the SEC last season . Branch III is already generating NBA Draft buzz. While he isn't as polished as AJ Dybantsa was when he arrived at BYU, Branch has NBA size and NBA potential. He is talented enough to start right away.

The last two starting spots aren't set in stone. We project Jake Wahlin to start at power forward for BYU. Wahlin has started 52 games over the last two seasons. Khahim Mboup and Tyler Betsey could also push Wahlin for that spot.

Lastly, we have Jakub Urbaniak penciled in as the starting center. BYU could still add a center that could push Urbaniak for the starting job. However, as the roster stands today, we like Urbaniak's chances to start.

Robert Wright III
Collin Chandler
Bruce Branch III
Jake Wahlin
Jakub Urbaniak

The Rotation

In Kevin Young's first season, BYU rotated as many as 10 or 11 players deep into the season. Last year, the rotation was much tighter. The injuries really limited BYU's depth last season. If BYU stays healthy in 2026-2027, they cold rotate as many as 11 players like they did a few years ago.

Syracuse transfer Tyler Betsey will factor into the rotation. Betsey was one of the best shooters in the ACC last season. Khadim Mboup, at least as it stands today, would be the backup five. Nate Pickens would be the backup point guard to Robert Wright III.

Dawson Baker will play a role for BYU off the bench once he is fully recovered from his ACL injury. Dovydas Buika could provide a shooting spark off the bench, and he could initiate the offense in a pinch. Finally, BYU will be incentivized to find some minutes for four-star true freshman Dean Rueckert. Rueckert is long, can score, and he has the potential to be one of the faces of the program in the future.

Khadim Mboup
Tyler Betsey
Nate Pickens
Dawson Baker
Dovydas Buika
Dean Rueckert

That would leave true freshman returned missionary Brooks Bahr and Brody Kozlowski outside the rotation. Kozlowski has dealt with numerous injuries that have limited his career so far at BYU. Bahr returned home from his mission a few months ago.

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