Baylor's Tounde Yessoufou withdraws from draft, heads to St. John's

Field Level Media|published: Thu 28th May, 22:12 2026

Mar 7, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) scores a layup against Utah Utes forward James Okonkwo (32) during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images

St. John's landed a commitment from Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou on Thursday, a day after he removed his name from NBA draft consideration ahead of Wednesday's 11:59 p.m. deadline.

Yessoufou was immediately impactful as a freshman for the Bears, finishing second on the team with 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He averaged a team-high 2.0 steals per game, which ranked third in the Big 12.

It's a major boost for St. John's entering Rick Pitino's fourth season as head coach. The Red Storm are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance this past season, the program's first since the 1999 NCAA Tournament.

"Super excited for the addition of Tounde," Pitino said on his X account. "We will add one more scholarship player in the next 24 hours and (our) roster will be complete. Couldn't be more fired up for this upcoming season!"

One potential player Pitino could be alluding to is Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic. St. John's is one of four reported finalists to land his commitment after he shot a nation-leading 48.7% from 3-point range last season and also withdrew from the NBA draft this week.

--Field Level Media

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