Dawson Baker thought this past season would be the perfect way for him to “ride off into the sunset.”
He opened the year as the senior sixth man for a top-10-ranked BYU team, playing alongside the NBA draft’s potential No. 1 pick and a few other All-Big 12 or All-American-caliber players.
Expectations were high for the Cougars, with many penciling them in for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Baker was slated to be a key piece to such an endeavor.
But he didn’t make it to March, let alone out of November.
Six games into the season and on Thanksgiving in Florida, Baker tumbled hard trying to cut under the basket against Miami, landing awkwardly and needing to be helped off the court.
When BYU faced Dayton the next night, he took in the action from a wheelchair, all but confirming the fears of his injury’s severity.
Baker soon announced he had suffered a torn ACL, in addition to a torn lateral meniscus, mild PLC involvement, grade 2 MCL and LCL sprains, bone bruising, muscle/tendon strains and small impact fractures. His season was over.
It was a significant blow to the Cougars, who were without their most experienced veteran contributor, leading bench weapon, and arguable best 3-point shooter — Baker was averaging 7.5 points and making 47% of his shots from behind the arc through six games.
For Baker, it was the most intense entry of his complicated health saga, having already undergone several foot surgeries — and another on his knee — since arriving in Provo from UC Irvine in 2023.
Given his plethora of injuries and his age, it would have been understandable for the class of 2018 high school graduate and Latter-day Saint returned missionary to hang up his sneakers.
Baker, however, isn’t ready to say goodbye to basketball.
Rather than medically retire, Baker is planning to return to BYU for his seventh collegiate campaign, pending official NCAA approval as of Wednesday. He was not honored at the program’s Senior Night in March, alluding to he and the coaching staff’s confidence in receiving additional eligibility.
Of course, more important than being eligible is being healthy, and Baker has been pleased with the process of repairing his knee.
“It’s a long recovery, but it’s been really good. There’s been no setbacks,” Baker said in a recent appearance on “BYU Sports Nation.” “We have a full-time (physical therapist) I work with. I work out every morning with him, and so I’m working my butt off to get everything feeling right. It’s been going really good; I’ve been feeling really good about everything.
“... I’ve been more motivated than ever just having an injury like that to get back to playing again.”
During his three years at UC Irvine, Baker scored more than 1,000 points and was a three-time All-Big West award winner. The injury bug began to bite when he transferred to BYU, missing 59 of the Cougars’ 105 games since the start of 2023.
As evidenced by his six games this past season, Baker has been truly solid when healthy. He didn’t miss a single contest in 2024-25, averaging 7.5 points and shooting 38% from 3-point range to help the Cougars reach their first Sweet 16 since 2011.
While Baker originally committed to play for Mark Pope, he chose to remain at BYU upon Kevin Young’s hiring, thus having a front-row seat to witness the program’s rapid evolution under the longtime former NBA assistant.
“You could definitely see in KY’s first couple years just the growth, the learning of what college is like versus the NBA, what works in college and (what players) he wants to be a part of BYU,” Baker said. “I think we can see from year to year everything’s a little bit different, which is cool to see his growth and all of that.
“I think looking forward to this next year, we’ve got a lot of good dudes that honestly are going to rep the Y really well, it matters to them being at BYU. I think that’s something super special, and I think that’s something KY and the rest of the staff are realizing is super important to have at BYU, so I’m excited for the fans to feel that on the court this year.”
Last year’s season-ending injury may not have been part of Baker’s initial plans, but he views it now as “honestly a blessing in disguise.”
When Cougars star and fellow veteran sharpshooter Richie Saunders suffered his own torn ACL in February, Baker recognized his unique opportunity to minister to Saunders as someone who had fought a similar battle.
“I was trying to find my purpose through it all, and I ended up finding Richie and a way to be a support system for him as part of my purpose. I was grateful for that,” Baker said.
“But Richie is such a tough kid, you know, so tough. I knew when he went out it was going to be serious, and luckily it was just his ACL. He’s going to be great and find his way ... Richie is going to find a spot (in the NBA draft), and any team’s going to be super lucky to sneak him out and and get him healthy.”
Supporting Saunders has also prepared Baker for the task of being BYU’s chief veteran leader, where he’ll help set the tone for experienced transfer additions in Collin Chandler, Jake Wahlin and Tyler Betsey along with highly-touted new freshmen Bruce Branch III and Dean Rueckert.
The Cougars’ roster is still incomplete, most notably needing a starting big man, but Baker likes what he sees so far, feeling that everyone’s fit both at BYU and with each other can go a long way.
“It kind of reminds me a lot of the Sweet 16 team (from 2024-25), just a lot of dudes that (BYU) matters to them,” Baker said. “I think pairing a lot of guys with that and mixing in some good chemistry is going to be something really good that we’re going to feel. We’re going to progressively get better throughout the year and not taper off like some teams do during the course of a season.
“... We just need to round it out with a couple more pieces, but we’re about right there with a good core.”
