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BYU's Fousseyni Traore (left) makes a move to get past Texas Tech's Darrion Williams in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Daily Herald

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BYU's Fousseyni Traore (right) takes a shot over a pair of defenders in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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The Fous will be loose in France.

Former BYU basketball player Fousseyni Traore, who completed his college eligibility in March, has signed to play professionally with SIG Strasbourg, one of the top French teams which has qualified for eight European Champions League appearances in the past nine seasons.

Traore is originally from Mali but played high school basketball at Wasatch Academy in Utah. In four seasons at BYU, Traore started 63 games and played in 128, finishing with 1,338 career points and 869 rebounds. He averaged 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2022-23. As a a senior, Traore averaged 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 63% from the field.

Traore was academic All-Big 12 in 2025 and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2024, the Cougars first season in the league. He made the All-Freshman team in 2022 when BYU was playing in the West Coast Conference.

Here’s the official release from SIG Strasbourg as translated by Google, so read at your own risk:

“After the official signing of its coach and William Pfister, SIG Strasbourg continues its recruitment by formalizing today the signing for one season of Malian center, Fousseyni Traore (22 years old, 1m98, 110kg, 2m15 wingspan).

“Fresh out of Brigham Young University in Utah, where legend Danny Ainge notably passed through, Fousseyni Traoré has just completed his NCAA program. Arriving at the Cougars in 2021, he quickly established himself as a key element of the rotation, becoming a major player in 21 of 33 matches in his first season and being voted Freshman of the Week four times in his conference and in the top five of the first-year players of the 2021/22 season.

“Originally from Mali, Fousseyni Traoré is a solid pivot with a significant wingspan (2m15), who knows how to use his physique (110kg) to stand up to bigger interiors thanks to his excellent sense of positioning and his intensity in order to secure rebounds and find the best positions offensively and defensively.

“A renowned rebounder, he has excellent playing ability in the small perimeter while being able to redistribute the game if necessary. Author of 10.4pts, 6.8rbs in 128 university matches, he also played for the youth selections for his country. Participating in the U16 African Nations Championship in 2017, he was a member 4 years later of the Mali U19 team which participated in the World Cup.

“Fully committed to the club’s goal of promoting young players with proven and emerging potential, Fousseyni Traoré immediately embraced the project proposed by SIG Strasbourg in order to sign his first contract in Europe.

“Sporting Director Nicola Alberani commented on his signing: ‘Fousseyni Traoré has a unique story. He is one of those players who wants to prove himself on the pitch. He plays with a lot of energy and intensity and fights body and soul. We believe he will be able to bring us a lot in this respect during the season.’

“Jānis Gailītis also commented on his arrival: ‘Fousseyni Traore is a player who will contribute to the DNA we want for our team. He never gives up, plays hard and with a lot of energy. He has proven a lot during his university career and comes from a good program. We are counting on him and his warrior mindset to be able to win the toughest battles in the paint.'”