As the college basketball transfer portal closed Tuesday night, the Utah Utes were preparing to host a new commit as well as a potential portal target on visits Wednesday.
According to multiple reports, Utah will have Auburn transfer Jahki Howard and Iowa transfer Seydou Traore on campus Wednesday. Howard committed to the Utes last week, while Traore continues to field interest from numerous programs since entering the portal on April 3.
The 6-foot-7 Traore spent the past season with the Hawkeyes following one season at Manhattan. He averaged 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27 appearances, including 12 starts, as a sophomore in the 2024-25 campaign. Traore shot 43.6% from the field and 26.5% from 3-point range.
Prior to joining Iowa, Traore put up 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game as a freshman with the Jaspers.
A former unranked high school recruit, Traore is a three-star transfer according to 247Sports. He’s received interest from a handful of schools, according to reports, including Memphis, Kansas State, Villanova, UNLV, Georgetown, LSU and West Virginia.
Utah will welcome commit @showtime_ki and Iowa transfer, @iamseydou35. Utah continues to emphasize upgrading their athleticism across the board with Traore. pic.twitter.com/gyyBzUpfIP
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) April 23, 2025
NEWS: Iowa transfer 6’7” wing Seydou Traore tells me these schools have been involved recently:
Memphis
Kansas State
Villanova
UNLV
Georgetown
LSU
West VirginiaTraore is a really bouncy wing that is tough around the rim (66% FG) and is a good, natural cutter. Good lateral… pic.twitter.com/dRteVvgIem
— Hitmen Hoops (@HitmenHoops) April 19, 2025
Howard, who committed to the Utes on April 19, was Utah’s fourth addition via the transfer portal this spring. The 6-foot-6 forward joined 6-foot-4 guard Elijah “Choppa” Moore (Syracuse), 6-foot-8 forwardJames Okonkwo (Akron) and 6-foot-3 guard Terrence Brown (Fairleigh Dickinson) as newcomers to the 2025-26 squad. A dozen players from last season’s 16-17 squad entered the portal after the 30-day window opened March 24.
Howard appeared in 21 games for Auburn last season and logged just 86 minutes for Bruce Pearl during SEC play, averaging 4.2 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 53.6% from the field. He also knocked down 40.9% of his attempts from long range, albeit it on 1.0 attempts from 3 per game. Howard appeared in Auburn’s Round of 64 win over Alabama State and in the Tigers’ triumph over Creighton in the Round of 32, logging 4 total minutes in the NCAA Tournament.
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