Utah Transfer Forward Seydou Traore Commits to West Virginia

Another portal pick-up for Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers.

Feb 28, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Utah Utes forward Seydou Traore (0) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Late Friday night, the West Virginia Mountaineers picked up another piece to their 2026-27 puzzle, securing a commitment from Utah transfer forward Seydou Traore. He picked the Mountaineers over Seton Hall, UConn, and a few others.

In 31 games this past season with the Utes, Traore averaged nine points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists per game while shooting 38.6% from the field and 33.3% from three-point land.

You may remember his performance against West Virginia, considering he was one of the best players on the floor that night and helped seal the deal for the Utes. He notched 17 points on 6/14 shooting, including a 3/4 night from three-point range while chipping in six rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two steals.

At the end of the game, Honor Huff had a chance to win it with a three-pointer in front of the West Virginia bench with Traore guarding the ball. Traore made a strong contest and got a piece of it, forcing the shot to fall well short of the basket and into the hands of a Ute. WVU intentionally fouled and the free throws were made on the other end to put the game on ice.

Prior to his one season at Utah, Traore spent a season at Manhattan and one at Iowa. As a freshman with the Jaspers, he posted 11.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game, giving him the opportunity to make the jump up to a high major.

At Iowa, his minutes, and production for that matter, were cut in half. He wasn't a key part of their rotation and just wasn't a good fit with the Hawkeyes.

Where he will slot in at West Virginia

Seydou Traore

Traore will be the Mountaineers' starter on the wing and will have the ability to play the four if needed. He's a strong defensive player who can impact the game in a number of ways. His length and size (6'6", 220 lbs) can be problematic for opposing guards when he is switched onto them, and as we saw firsthand against Huff, he has no problem switching to smaller, quicker guys.

He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

West Virginia's current roster

* - walk-on

G: Miles Sadler, Amir Jenkins, Keonte Greybear

G: Finley Bizjack, Martin Somerville, MJ Feenane*

G/F: Seydou Traore, Evans Barning Jr., Max Olejasz*

F: Javan Buchanan

C: Mouhammad Sylla, Aliou Dioum, Amadou Seini