Evaluating Freshman Impact: Baylor's Tounde Yessoufou

Tounde Yessoufou has built a lot of his evaluation off of working as hard as anyone in his recruiting class. However, with more offense than some expect, there could be more to this incoming prospect than meets the eye.

On3 Insider Jamie Shaw, speaking with On3’s James Fletcher last week about this year’s freshman class, eventually got to Yessoufou. Shaw would mention the start-to-finish effort that he brings and how that affects his team and the game whenever he takes the court, including what it’ll do next season at Baylor.

“The thing with Tounde that strikes immediately is the motor,” said Shaw. “Very strong player, lots of explosion but he is nonstop. I mean, from opening tip to final whistle, he is nonstop. He plays through injuries, he puts his body on the line. He’s aggressive. He’s also another (who’s) very mature…Tounde is another one of those guys.”

“It’s not going to be the prettiest, the aesthetic of it is not going to be the sexiest but his production is always going to be there and he makes winning plays all over the floor. Whether it be getting the rebound, whether it be making the extra pass, whether it be attacking the rim and finishing through contact for an and-one, whether it be diving on the floor for a loss ball. Whatever it is, he’s going to get there and he’s going to, if not attempt to make a play, actually make the play and there’s a lot to be said with that,” Shaw said. “He’s going to come in immediately at Baylor and he’s going to get that done.”

Yessoufou, a native of Santa Maria, California, ranked as the No. 14 overall recruit and a five-star in the 2025 recruiting cycle, making him the highest-rated signee by far this offseason for the Bears after choosing them over Arizona State and USC. He also rated as the No. 3 SF, behind AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Nate Ament (Tennessee), and the No. 4 player out of Cali, after Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Brayden Burries (Arizona), and Alijah Arenas (USC). That’s according to Rivals’ Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also, following his prep career, would be a McDonald’s All-American while also taking part in the Jordan Brand Classic and Iverson Classic.

Again, Yessoufou is most known for the energy he brings on both sides of the floor. That said, Shaw thinks he has more offense than many think, with him being first all-time in scoring in the state of California after his career at St. Joseph only proving that. It will need further development at the college level but it’s the part of his game that Shaw thinks is most underrated for a recruit that already has a high floor with all else he brings to the court.

“He’s California’s all-time leading scorer, the state of California’s all-time leading scorer. You know, that says something,” noted Shaw. “A lot of good players have come from California, a lot of players have played against nobody in California and put up numbers. You know, he’s put up more numbers than anybody.”

“His offensive game is a little bit more more advanced than he gets credit for just because of the motor that he plays with. He’s going to have to tighten up the footwork, he’s going to have to learn how to get to a spot, find advantageous angles and exploit those, and get the jump shot more consistent. But there’s so much there when it comes to just finding production, when it comes to gaining advantages and taking advantage of that,” said Shaw.

Yessoufou has worked his way into being a top recruit as well as a projected first-round pick already in the 2026 NBA Draft next June. He could now only build on that stock with him set to see the floor early this upcoming season in Waco.

“There’s so much there with Tounde,” said Shaw. “He’s in a good spot at Baylor to be able to kind of, you know, push his game for what he does well and highlight his game this season.”