PROVO, Utah – BYU junior Fousseyni Traore was one of 20 players named to the 2024 Karl Malone Award Watch List on Thursday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced. The award is given annually to the top power forward in Division I men’s college basketball.
Traore, a native of Bamako, Mali is one of two players from the Big 12 on the list joined by Houston’s J’Wan Roberts. He enters his third season in Provo having appeared in 66 games, including 54 starts, where he is averaging 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
The 6-foot-6 forward ranks first in program history in field goal percentage in conference play (.609), also ranking 13th in career offensive rebounds (185), rebounds per game, 20th in blocks and 20th in double-doubles.
Earlier this fall Traore was named one of the Top 100 players in the nation by The Almanac after averaging 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2022-23. He shot 60.7 percent from the field, the second-highest percentage in program history (min. 100 FG made). He scored in double figures 24 times, including a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double against Butler.
In 2021-22, Traore averaged 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game en route to earning WCC Freshman Team accolades. He had 11 10-rebound games en route to breaking the freshman program records in offensive and total rebounds.
He was named to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team after recording his first career double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds) in the Cougars win over Liberty. He also had a 25-point, 19-rebounds double-double in the season finale against Pepperdine, breaking Trent Plaisted’s freshman single-game rebound record.
The list will be narrowed down to top 10 in late January, with plans to announce the Final 5 in late March. The winner of the award will be announced at the Final Four in Phoenix, Ariz.
Previous winners of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award include Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Iowa’s Keegan Murray and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme.