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PROVO — BYU was already going to be shorthanded while star forward Yoeli Childs missed the first nine games of the 2019-20 season with an NCAA-mandated suspension.
The Cougars will be down even more personnel to start the season.
BYU wing Zac Seljaas will likely miss the start of the 2019-20 season after undergoing surgery for a broken foot Friday, BYU spokesman Kyle Chilton confirmed to KSL.com.
The news was first reported by SB Nation and confirmed by several other media outlets.
Seljaas, who injured his foot during the Cougars' recent preseason tour of Italy, will be a senior this fall. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound native of Bountiful averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a junior — the fourth-best scoring mark on the team in 2018-19 en route to a 19-13 overall record.
No timetable has been set for Seljaas' return. But foot surgery to repair a simple fracture typically lasts six to eight weeks, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, with adjusted recovery time depending on the severity of the fracture and location within the foot's 26 bones.
Seljaas scored 12 points during a 92-64 win over BC Silute in the Cougars' Italian opener last Monday. He added 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in just 11 minutes Tuesday in an 87-47 rout of LCC International — which is when the injury occurred, according to BYU.
After examining several options, the Cougars elected to send Seljaas home Friday to have surgery. He did not play Thursday in the 71-62 victory over Stella Azzurra Academy.
Seljaas is one of six seniors on this year's team, in addition to graduate transfer Jake Toolson. Both Seljaas and Toolson likely would have split time at small forward under first-year head coach Mark Pope this fall, though Seljaas had also been used as a "small-ball power forward" by previous coach Dave Rose in recent years.
While several players will be in the mix to see more playing time early in the season, Seljaas' time away from the court will likely be aided by incoming freshman Trevin Knell. The Woods Cross product who coincidentally played AAU hoops with Seljaas in the Davis County area recently returned from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay after originally signing with Cal.
Knell, a 6-foot-5 three-star recruit in high school, averaged 25.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 23 games as a senior for the Wildcats, shooting 52.6% from the field and 48.3% from 3-point range for a Woods Cross team that went 12-0 in Region 5 play.
