BYU Basketball Injury Updates On Trevin Knell, Fousseyni Traore, Dawson Baker

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball took down the 24th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones with a shorthanded roster.

Getting a win over Iowa State would have been impressive enough, as the Cyclones boast one of the nation’s top defenses. But to do it without Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore made the 87-72 victory BYU’s best win of the season.

BYU Basketball Injury Report: Trevin Knell (Foot)

Knell was sidelined against Iowa State due to a foot injury he suffered late in the win over UCF last Saturday.

“We actually found it on film. It was like five or six minutes left in the UCF game, and he kind of collided feet,” said BYU coach Mark Pope. “He came out of the play limping and came over to talk to Rob [Ramos] and he was like, ‘I think I can keep going.’ Then after the game, it was not great.”

The good news for Knell and No. 20 BYU is that he could return to the floor soon.

“We had imaging and the imaging came back as good as it can possibly be. We were really nervous,” said Pope. “But we’re hoping he’s going to make a quick recovery. So we’ll see.”

Knell has started 16 games for BYU this season.

Through three games in Big 12 action, Knell leads the league in three-pointers made with 16. He’s averaging 5.3 three-point field goals during conference action.

Fousseyni Traore continues to deal with a hamstring injury

Fousseyni Traore was out against Iowa State due to his lingering hamstring injury on Black Friday against NC State in November. Traore played in the first three Big 12 games, logging no more than 10 minutes in any of those contests.

He suited up for the Iowa State game but never checked in.

“We kind of scratched [Traore] early. Then he came to warmups, and like, right before the game, it was kind of like, maybe he could go tonight,” Pope said on the BYU Sports Network radio postgame show heard on KSL NewsRadio.

“I was just like, if there’s any way I can survive and have a functional group on the floor, I’d like to buy him a couple of more days. Just to make sure he’s feeling good,” said Pope.

Traore has appeared in nine games this season. Since returning from the hamstring injury, the three appearances have come off the bench.

Dawson Baker schedules season-ending surgery

As BYU waits to get Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore back this season, there will be no return for UC Irvine transfer guard Dawson Baker this year.

Baker, who didn’t travel to the road games last week, is being shut down for the year due to a foot injury. Pope said after the Iowa State win, season-ending surgery was lined up for Baker.

“Dawson has surgery scheduled and it’s a pretty complicated surgery. It’s super unfortunate,” Pope said on the radio postgame show. “He had surgery this summer where we actually put in a screw and did the whole thing. It had been an injury that was kind of getting worse and worse and worse over the previous year. And even that didn’t get us where we needed to go. So they’re going to do a much more intensive surgery but something that we have incredible confidence that it’s going to get him to health.

“He’s going to be a really special player, but he’s not going to be able to do it this year. That’s unfortunate for us but this is God’s will kind of thing. Dawson will learn all the lessons he’s supposed to learn. We’re gonna learn all the lessons we’re supposed to learn and then we’ll come out of it better on the other side.”

Baker appeared in four games, averaging five points per game in 10 minutes of action.

BYU must apply for a medical redshirt for Baker from the NCAA to get his year of eligibility. If given back, Baker would have two years of eligibility remaining in his collegiate career.

Next up for BYU basketball

No. 20 BYU basketball is back in action on Saturday afternoon against No. 25 Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. (MT) on ESPN2 and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s’ coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.

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