PROVO — Another international prospect is joining the BYU men’s basketball team.
The Cougars bolstered the roster Wednesday with the signing of Austrian international Aleksej Kostic, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 6.5 points, including 36.4% from 3-point range, for the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the Austrian Basketball Superliga.
Considered one of the better shooters in Austria, Kostic was the fourth-highest scorer two years ago in leading the U18 squad to a fourth-place finishing at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B while averaging 19.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. That included a 34-point outburst against Montenegro in the third-place game of the tournament.
He’s currently in camp with the Austrian senior men’s national team, where he recently made his seventh appearance while scoring 3 points in 17 minutes in a friendly against Slovakia.
“We’re very excited to add Aleksej to our program here at BYU,” head coach Kevin Young said. “He brings valuable experience having represented his country on the national team level. He is a high-level shooter who can play multiple positions and gives us another ball handler and play maker. We look forward to helping him take his game to another level.”Kostic joins a talented roster in Young’s second season in Provo, led by returning top scorer Richie Saunders and five-star true freshman AJ Dybantsa, the 6-foot-9 jumbo wing who was named MVP of the FIBA U19 World Cup after leading the United States to the gold medal for the ninth time in program history.
Other additions include 6-foot-11 four-star rim protector Xavion Staton from Las Vegas; Baylor transfer point guard Robert Wright III; Washington transfer Dominique Diomande; former Idaho sharpshooter Tyler Mrus; and Nate Pickens, who shot 37.2% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range a year ago at UC Riverside.
BYU opens the 2025-26 ranked as high as No. 3 nationally by CBS Sports, with a pair of exhibition games against Nebraska and North Carolina. The regular season tips off Nov. 3 against Villanova in Las Vegas, with nonconference tips against UConn in Boston, Wisconsin at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, and Clemson at Madison Square Garden in New York City
