{"id":197909,"date":"2026-05-29T17:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=197909"},"modified":"2026-05-29T17:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:25:14","slug":"tounde-yessoufou-portal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/29\/tounde-yessoufou-portal\/","title":{"rendered":"Tounde Yessoufou Commits to Back-to-Back Big East Champs St. Johns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tounde Yessoufou<\/a>, a prospect who was projected as a first-round pick in this year\u2019s NBA Draft<\/a>, has decided to withdraw and leave Baylor to play for Rick Pitino at St. John\u2019s. 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.<\/p>\n

Tounde Yessoufou Commits To Back-to-Back Big East Champs St. Johns<\/h2>\n

Why Would Tounde Yessoufou Come Back To College<\/h3>\n

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Yessoufou<\/a> is now the second consensus top 10 transfer portal player to commit to play in the Big East. The first was Miles Byrd<\/a>, who committed to Providence<\/a>. 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\u2019s career scoring record, which earned him a five-star ranking and a commitment to play basketball at Baylor.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Why All The Hype For Tounde Yessoufou<\/h3>\n
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OFFICIAL \u270d\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Welcome to the Red Storm, Tounde! \ud83d\udd34\u26c8\ufe0f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f: https:\/\/t.co\/SG3PSPuCvE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0nIsJ4X6za<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 St. John’s Men\u2019s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n