Calipari, Arkansas beat out UConn to earn pledge from talented wing

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — John Calipari prioritized him for more than a year, and on Friday morning that persistent pursuit paid off when 2026 priority recruiting target Abdou Toure committed to Arkansas.

The Razorbacks have landed their second class of 2026 pledge with Toure's announcement, which came shortly after 11 a.m. CT via a livestream from his Instagram account.

Toure (6-foot-5 wing, Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Conn., national Top 30, 4-star prospect) called the Hogs over UConn and Providence (his other finalists) after also considering Louisville, Oregon, Maryland, and Florida State.

Toure made two visits to Arkansas: an official visit (Sept. 12-14, 2025) that came nearly a year after an unofficial visit (October 2024).

Calipari traveled to West Haven for an in-home visit with Toure on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Arkansas assistant coach Chuck Martin had been out to see Toure at Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Conn., at least once (Wednesday, Sept. 3, which as the first day of the NCAA's open recruiting period that runs through April 30, 2026).

Martin along with Calipari and other Hog staffers had been courtside for most of Toure's spring-and-summer grassroots and high school scholastic events.

Toure is an explosive wing with a big-motor, a playmaker in both open court and halfcourt, and a locked-in competitor who was the top high school player in Connecticut in 2024-25 (he was named his state's Gatorade Player of the Year, as was Andrews last season).

Toure averaged 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 61.3% from the field, including a respectable 34.3% from 3, and 74.2% from the free throw line in '24-25. He was also honored with his second consecutive MaxPreps Connecticut Player of the Year award.

Toure starred on the Adidas 3SSB spring-and-summer grassroots circuit in 2025, averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.6 "stocks" (steals and blocks as each averaged 1.3 in each of those two categories).

Playing for Guinea's junior national team in the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, averaging 23.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 57.4% from the field and 70.8% from the free throw line.

The fact that Calipari already has a commitment from 2026 5-star wing and in-state stud JaShawn "JJ" Andrews (6-foot-6, Little Rock Christian Academy, ESPN national No. 12 / 5-star prospect, pledged to Calipari and Arkansas in May) does not raise concerns about loading up on too many players with similar positional value.

Just last season, true freshmen wings Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III — both 5-star recruits from the class of 2024 — were instrumental in helping drive the Hoop Hogs to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen where they were a whisker away from advancing to the Elite Eight, and both benefitted with noticeable in-season jumps in their development and production while raising their NBA profiles and exposure.

Over a long career spanning more than four decades as a Division I head coach, Calipari has successfully recruited multiple players who are similar position-wise, and it's been a proven formula that translated to winning at a high level on the court while not detracting from individual players pursuing their NBA dreams.

Interestingly, Toure and Andrews teamed up not that long ago, playing on the same squad for multiple days during 5-on-5 competition at the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp in June in Orlando, Fla. Courtside evaluating their performances as teammates during that event were Calipari and his Arkansas coaching staff.

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