Baylor's 2025 class off to strong start with pledge from five-star All-American

Big 12 Conference school Baylor is on the board in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

The Bears, which captured the 2021 national championship under head coach Scott Drew, received a verbal commitment on Wednesday from 2025 five-star small forward and top-15 national prospect Tounde Yessoufou.

The talented 6-foot-6 wing chose Baylor over other finalists, Arizona State, a fellow Big 12 member, and Southern California in the Big Ten Conference. In recent months, he visited all three of his finalists.

Yessoufou earned All-America honors as a junior at St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, Calif. This spring and summer, he played at a high level while competing on the AAU circuit for the 17U team of the Los Angeles-based Why Not in Nike's EYBL league.

According to recruiting services, Yessoufou landed a range of scholarship offers from high-major programs such as two-time defending national champion Connecticut, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Washington, Stanford, California and UCLA, among others.

Currently, within the 2025 class, Yessoufou's highest national ranking comes via On3, which places him at No. 11 overall. All of the primary recruiting Web sites rate him in the top 20 nationally of the senior cycle as well as a top-five small forward.

In the 2023-24 season, Yessoufou was excellent, averaging 32.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals, and 2.1 assists per game as St. Joseph went 31-4 overall and was ranked No. 44 in the country by MaxPreps. Yessoufou was named to the MaxPreps junior All-America third team for his performance a term ago.

During the EYBL regular season this past spring, Yessoufou averaged 16.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. In July, he poured it on at the EYBL's annual season-ending Peach Jam tournament, tallying averages of 21.8 points and 5.4 boards per game while connecting on 38.9 percent from beyond the arc.

In an evaluation, On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw wrote in part:

"Tounde Yessoufou is a physically developed, explosively athletic wing prospect. Consistent production is the name of the game for the 6-5 Yessoufou. Defensively, he guards multiple positions, able to move his feet on the perimeter or switch down to guard some on the block. He has the quick-twitch to defend the ball and the anticipation and length as a team defender. Offensively, he has a solid pace and is at his best getting downhill in straight lines."

Yessoufou is a solid first pledge for Drew and his staff, and Baylor coaches remain in pursuit of several other top-flight 2025 players, including five-star small forward and No. 1 national prospect AJ Dybantsa, five-star power forward Koa Peat and five-star center Chris Cenac.