The BYU Cougars men’s basketball program continues to land five-star recruits.
On Tuesday, five-star senior Bruce Branch III announced he is committing to BYU. Branch made the announcement on ESPN during an episode of “NBA Today.”
Before announcing his college commitment to BYU, Bruce Branch III got emotional talking about his mom 🥺
— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2026
He is the No. 6 recruit in the @SCNext Class of 2026. pic.twitter.com/EhxTcxd60F
Branch was the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2027, but he reclassified to the Class of 2026. He ranks as the No. 6 prospect in the SC Next 100 list.
BYU landed Egor Demin, who was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 8 overall in 2025.
Then, BYU won the AJ Dybantsa sweepstakes as he chose the Cougars over schools such as Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina.
Dybantsa is currently in the conversation for the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, along with Kansas star Darryn Peterson.
Branch plays high school basketball at Prolific Prep in Florida. He chose BYU over USC, a school which he visited recently, although he also had interest from Arizona, Kansas and other blueblood programs.
Branch is now the fifth member of BYU’s 2026 recruiting class, which features four-star high school senior Dean Rueckert and four-star junior college transfer KJ Perry.
