Baylor Basketball: ESPN names 5-star freshman Tounde Yessoufou to elite list

After losing every player from last year's team, Baylor head coach Scott Drew was tasked with reloading his roster. The Bears have been a college basketball powerhouse for years now, and Drew's not expecting that to change -- even with a new-look roster. He went out and landed several players out of the transfer portal, but his biggest get for next season was five-star phenom Tounde Yessoufou.

The 6-foot-6 forward was ranked as the No. 14 player overall in the 2025 cycle, and the No. 2 SF, per the Composite. Yessoufou, the Santa Maria (CA) product, averaged at least 26 points per game for St. Joseph High in his four years of high school basketball.

Baylor, who just had guard VJ Edgecombe leave for the NBA Draft, was the Big 12's Freshman of the Year in 2024, and it's possible Yessoufou could be the next. With that in mind, ESPN's Jeff Borzello named Yessoufou as one of the top freshmen to watch this upcoming season.

"The career scoring leader in the state of California, Yessoufou is as good a pure bucket-getter as you'll find in the 2025 class. He's a physical wing who can get points at all three levels."

The Bears are coming off of a Silver Medal in the FISU World University Games, where they represented Team USA. Baylor has some talent like Cameron Carr, Obi Agbim, and Dan Skillings, but adding Yessoufou to the mix is going to take Baylor to a new level.

Baylor might not be highly ranked at the moment by some experts, but the Bears will likely be a team to be reckoned with when competition begins.

The first overtime in #NikeHoopSummit HISTORY!

Tounde Yessoufou ties it up.

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