Tounde Yessoufou, a prospect who was projected as a first-round pick in this year’s NBA Draft, has decided to withdraw and leave Baylor to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s. Yessoufou is a major addition for the Johnnies. Out of high school, he was a five-star and top-15 recruit, and last year as a freshman, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 47% from the floor per game.
Tounde Yessoufou Commits To Back-to-Back Big East Champs St. Johns
Why Would Tounde Yessoufou Come Back To College
Yessoufou is now the second consensus top 10 transfer portal player to commit to play in the Big East. The first was Miles Byrd, who committed to Providence. Yessoufou was born in Cotonou, Benin, which is located in West Africa. He came to the United States when he was 15 years old and enrolled at St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, California, to play basketball. At St. Joseph, Yessoufou broke the school’s career scoring record, which earned him a five-star ranking and a commitment to play basketball at Baylor.
Heading into his freshman year at Baylor, Yessoufou was widely regarded as a projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Throughout his freshman year, inconsistent play caused Yessoufou to slip down many draft boards. He averaged 1.6 assists per game, compared to averaging 1.9 turnovers per game. Despite turnover issues and some questions about his off-ball defense, Yessoufou was still seen by many as a first-round pick. Although no official reason has been given for Yessoufou’s return to college, some may speculate that slipping out of the lottery might be a factor.
Why All The Hype For Tounde Yessoufou
OFFICIAL ✍️
Welcome to the Red Storm, Tounde! 🔴⛈️
🗞️: https://t.co/SG3PSPuCvE pic.twitter.com/0nIsJ4X6za
— St. John’s Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) May 28, 2026
Although there are some concerns with parts of Yessoufou’s game, at six-foot-five and 215 pounds, he is a physical specimen with a sky-high ceiling. Coming into college, he was known for his work inside the arc as a high-energy slasher who could overpower and out-jump defenders. As a freshman, Yessoufou shot 29% from three and averaged about two made threes per game. While there’s still room for improvement in his outside shooting, Yessoufou demonstrated the ability to hit open threes and knock down shots off the dribble.
Throughout Yessoufou’s freshman year, there were concerns with his ball handling, passing, and shot selection as seen by the 1.9 turnovers compared to the 1.6 assists per game. Another year in college basketball and playing for coach Pitino will surely help Yessoufou take care of the ball more and take better shots. He will also not have the same pressure he did at Baylor to feel like he consistently has to make shots, since he will be surrounded by playmakers. With St. John’s retaining Ian Jackson, bringing in Quinn Ellis, and Donnie Freeman, they look to be loaded offensively.
The defense will also need to be refined, particularly when playing off-ball. Having a better feel for the speed of the college game, Yessoufou should be poised to improve defensively. He has all the tools defensively with his motor, size, and quickness. He also has the ability to guard one through four, which is a rare trait to have.
With all this room for improvement, Yessoufou still averaged 17.8 points per game as a freshman and shot 47%. If he can continue to improve on his strengths and clean up a few parts of his game, there is no telling how dominant he can be. With a better team around him at St. John’s and Pitino at the helm, it appears as though Yessoufou could be in for a very big year. St. John’s also looks poised to go for a three-peat as Big East regular-season and tournament champs.
Featured Image: William Purnell-Imagn Images
