BYU Cougars guard Dawson Baker (25) lays the ball up against the Wisconsin Badgers during a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsJackson PayneMon, December 1, 2025 at 9:16 PM UTC·3 min readBYU guard Dawson Baker has suffered a complete ACL tear in addition to other major injuries, he announced Monday on social media.
According to the sixth-year senior, his MRI results showed “a complete torn ACL, torn lateral meniscus, mild PLC involvement, grade 2 MCL and LCL sprains, bone bruising, muscle/tendon strains and small impact fractures to top it all off.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGiven the severity of the injury and standard recovery time, Baker will most likely miss the remainder of the season.
Baker’s injury occurred in the final minutes of BYU’s Thanksgiving day contest against Miami at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida. He immediately left the game and watched the Cougars’ following game against Dayton from a wheelchair.
“My body has been tested and tried since being at BYU,” Baker wrote. “This will now be the fifth time that I’ve had to start everything all over again. Through all the heartbreak, tears, and surgeries, this has been the hardest on me by far.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Life and sports are not always fair and I’ve found a lot of importance in my life in finding peace in God’s plan. But man, what a hard thing to do.“
Baker arrived at BYU in 2023 following three seasons at UC-Irvine, where he was a three-time All-Big West award winner. He played four games in his first campaign with the Cougars before having season-ending foot surgery.
In 36 games last year, Baker averaged 7.5 points per game as a valuable bench piece for BYU’s Sweet 16 squad.
This season, he was averaging 7.5 points per game, shooting 47.4% from 3-point range and had scored 31.1% of the Cougars’ total bench points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“There is no other fan base I would put my body through this extreme agony for,” Baker wrote. “The amount of support and love that’s been shown to me has been overwhelming and inspiring.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me as there are a lot of decisions to be made — but know one thing, I am a fighter! As Kobe (Bryant) famously said, ‘If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear.’"
In 125 career college games, Baker averaged 10.8 points and was a 37.8% 3-point shooter.
With his extended absence, BYU will look for its other bench players to fill Baker’s scoring shoes.
BYU Cougars guard Dawson Baker (25) slaps hands with coaches as he comes off the floor against the Wisconsin Badgers during a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsAdvertisementAdvertisement
