BYU men's basketball signs 4 players

BYU men’s basketball announced Wednesday the signing of former G League center Abdullah Ahmed, top junior college prospect KJ Perry, and Timpview High School teammates Will Openshaw and Dean Rueckert.

Standing at 6-foot-10, Ahmed, a center from Cairo, Egypt, chose BYU on Tuesday in what 247Sports called a tightly contested recruiting battle with conference foe Houston. He is the third G League player to enter the college ranks.

“We love his defensive mindset,” coach Kevin Young said in a statement. “His ability to run the floor and the energy he plays with around the basket. He’s going to help anchor our defense … and give us a real presence in the paint.”

Ahmed, 22, spent the past two seasons with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League, where he played in 18 games, averaging 3.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Perry, a 6-foot-2 guard committed to BYU in October over USC, SMU and TCU. He plans to join the team in December as a redshirt and play in the 2025-2026 season. Last year, he shot an impressive 49.5 percent from the field, averaging 17.5 points along with 2.8 assists per game.

Perry and Ahmed are expected to make an immediate impact for the Cougars in the 2026-2027 season.

Rueckert and Openshaw will play one more season together in high school before heading to BYU. Rueckert, a four-star recruit, plans to enroll immediately after graduation, while Openshaw plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and join the program for the 2028-2029 season.

With an already strong recruiting class, Young looks to add more talent. Joe Tipton of On3 reported that consensus top-30 player in the country, Austin Goosby, will announce his decision between BYU, Texas, Duke and Baylor on Nov. 14. Goosby’s older brother is an offensive lineman for Texas.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently attended BYU’s exhibition against North Carolina. With Goosby’s decision approaching, BYU looks to continue its recruiting momentum for the 2026 campaign.