Tounde Yessoufou Officially Spurns Baylor After Withdrawing From NBA Draft

Baylor's star freshman Tounde Yessoufou was one of the last players to decide his NBA fate on Wednesday night. After turning down all rumors that he would return to college and go elsewhere, Yessoufou opted to withdraw his name from the 2026 NBA Draft and sign with St. John's.

Yessoufou left all options on the table prior to the NBA Combine, as he entered the transfer portal, but the former five-star kept saying he wanted to stay in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, Yessoufou's stock wasn't rising and he wasn't a sure-fire first-round pick.

Coming back to college, Yessoufou ended as one of the top portal players in the nation, and there were several schools recruiting him. The likes of Kentucky and St. John's were heavily pursuing Yessoufou, and Rick Pitino's school fought until the end to land Yessoufou.

Yessoufou's time at Baylor

Baylor Bears guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) shoots the ball against St. John's Red Storm — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In his lone season at Baylor, Yessoufou was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after averaging 17.8 points per game, 5.9 rebounds and led the Bears, averaging two steals per game. He set a Baylor freshman record, scoring 605 points this season.

While Yessoufou was a scoring machine for the Bears, he struggled with his deep shot, and that's something NBA scouts want to see him improve upon. Coming back to college for one more season makes sense for the young star, but Baylor could've certainly used him for one more season.

Coming out of high school, Yessoufou was a consensus five-star prospect and was ranked as the No. 14 player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Baylor's 2026-27 outlook with Yessoufou

Yessoufou was 1B to Cameron Carr's 1A last season in Waco. Now, Scott Drew doesn't have either heading into next season, as Carr has been a breakout star during his one season with Baylor, and into the Combine.

It's hard to argue that Baylor may still be a star away from making true noise in 2026-27, but the Bears' roster stacks up nicely and should remain competitive next season, with making the NCAA Tournament a true possibility.

Drew has a nice mixture of incoming transfers, while adding two stars from the recruiting ranks. The headliner is five-star combo guard Dylan Mingo, who if healthy, should take over as the star on the team. He will slot in next to his brother, Kayden, who comes from Penn State and gives the Bears a legit point guard.

Drew also retained seven players from last season's team, and added shooting threats such as Brett Decker Jr., and Isaac Celiscar from the portal.

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