UC Irvine Transfer Dawson Baker Talks BYU Visit

UC Irvine transfer Dawson Baker has a final four of BYU, Utah, Utah State, and Boise State. Baker completed a visit to BYU that finished Friday. I caught up with Dawson to talk about his visit to Provo and update on his recruitment.

“The visit with BYU was great!” Dawson told me. “Coaches had a lot of nice things to say about me and my game and how my impact could be utilized there at BYU. The coaches mentioned to me about being part of a historic time for BYU in entering the Big 12 and the environment and the fan support there in Provo.

The environment and setting BYU provides for me as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ is an awesome thing; I also like togetherness they seemed to have there as far as players, fans, and coaches. The coaches are amazing and it was great on my visit to further our relationships and get to know each other on a more personal level.

Next week I will be visiting Boise State and University of Utah.

I will hopefully have the time and clarity to make a decision within 2 weeks.”

Dawson took a visit to Utah State prior to coming to Provo.

Dawson is one of BYU’s top targets and would provide some much needed scoring punch and college experience. A three-year starter for UC Irvine, Dawson has averaged double figures all three seasons. He was Big West freshman of the year in 2020-2021 and was named All-Big West Second-Team this past season. Dawson was the team’s leading scorer for the Big West regular season champs, averaging 15.3 points on 47% shooting from the floor and 37% from three. He was top 200 nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, according to KenPom, and shoots 80% from the foul line. His scoring increased each season from 10.7 as a freshman, 11.2 as a sophomore, and 15.3 in his third year. This past season he also averaged 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.6 turnovers. Dawson has two years of eligibility remaining.

It’s been a nice week of recruiting for BYU, who added 4-Star Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa last Sunday and 4-Star 2024 forward Isaac Davis Wednesday. I anticipate BYU adding two more transfers alongside Khalifa this offseason.