An Early Look at the 2023-2024 BYU Basketball Roster
Tomorrow is Selection Sunday and the BYU basketball team won't be included in the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive season. As a result, BYU and head coach Mark Pope are turning the page to next season when it will play in the Big 12 for the first time. Today, we take an early look at the 2023-2024 BYU men's basketball roster.
Departing Players
BYU will lose only two seniors to graduation this year. As of today, these are the players from the 2022-203 roster that will not be on the 2023-2024 roster.
- Rudi Williams (Graduation)
- Gideon George (Graduation)
Expect at least one or two players to enter the transfer portal in the coming weeks. The transfer window for college basketball opens on March 13th and closes on May 11.
Returning Players (Name, Position, Eligibility)
- Noah Waterman - Forward - SR
- Trey Stewart - Guard - JR
- Jaxson Robinson - Guard - JR
- Atiki Ally Atiki - Forward - JR
- Tredyn Christensen - Forward - SR
- Braeden Moore - Forward - FR
- Tanner Toolson - Guard - SO
- Richie Saunders - Guard - SO
- Spencer Johnson - Guard - SR
- Trevin Knell - Guard - SR
- Tanner Hayhurst - Guard - SO
- Dallin Hall - Guard - SO
- Fousseyni Traore - Forward - JR
- Jared McGregor - Guard - SO
- Hao Dong - Forward - SO
BYU has a young core that it can build around in Dallin Hall, Fousseyni Traore, Richie Saunders, Jaxson Robinson, and Atiki Ally Atiki. Retaining those five players will be an important storyline this offseason. The transfer portal can only sustain a program for so long. In the long term, BYU will need to consistently hit on high school recruits and retain them in the program. So far, Traore, Hall, and Saunders look like the three most promising high school recruits in the Mark Pope era.
Over the last two seasons, scoring and creating offense has been a glaring weakness for this team. If BYU wants to have a chance to succeed in the Big 12 in 2023, it needs to add players from the portal that can score. As of right now, BYU only has one scholarship available for next season.
2023 Recruiting Class (Name, Position)
- NA
BYU hasn't signed any players as part of the 2023 recruiting class.
2023 Transfers (Name, Position, Eligibility)
- NA
As long as Mark Pope is the head coach at BYU, the transfer portal will be an important part of the program. BYU's coaching staff will contact dozens of players in the transfer portal over the next several months.
2022 Returned Missionaries (Name, Position, Eligibility)
- Jake Wahlin - Forward - FR
Coach Pope's second recruiting class is returning home from the mission field. Jake Wahlin, listed at 6'8 195 lbs in high school, committed to the Cougars over Arizona State, San Diego State, and New Mexico among others. Wahlin preps at Timpview High School just down the road from BYU's campus.
Time will tell how prepared Wahlin will be to take on a meaningful role as a freshman. In football, freshman returned missionaries are typically limited due to injury risk. In basketball, the returned missionaries have a few more months to prepare their bodies for the season.
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