Tounde Yessoufou has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft ahead of Wednesday night’s deadline, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The former Baylor guard’s agency confirmed to Charania that Yessoufou has committed to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s during the 2026/27 season.
Yessoufou, who is entering his sophomore year, had drawn significant attention as a potential first-round selection in next month’s draft.
The 6’5″ wing put together a strong freshman campaign for the Bears, averaging 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 assists per game across 34 starts.
He played 32.6 minutes per game during his debut season, posting field goal and free throw percentages of 46.5% and 74.6% respectively.
Yessoufou did struggle from three-point range, shooting just 29.3%, which remained an area of concern heading into draft evaluations.
Mock draft projections for the 20-year-old varied considerably, with Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report placing him 28th overall in his most recent projection.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports had Yessoufou going at No. 31, while ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projected him at No. 34, meaning a first-round slot was not guaranteed.
By returning to college for his sophomore season, Yessoufou is expected to build a stronger case for being selected in the first round of the 2027 NBA Draft.
Yessoufou was one of two notable prospects whose draft decisions had not been reported when Wednesday’s midnight NCAA withdrawal deadline passed.
Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, ranked as the No. 25 prospect on ESPN’s big board, is the other player whose intentions have still not been confirmed.
At least seven other college early entrants also have yet to announce their decisions, though none of those players appear on ESPN’s top-100 list.
Those players are Kennard Davis, Keanu Dawes, Gabe Dynes, Eian Elmer, Louis Hutchinson, Sebastian Rancik, and LeJuan Watts, meaning their choices are unlikely to significantly affect teams’ draft planning.
The NBA typically releases an update shortly after the NCAA withdrawal deadline identifying which players have removed themselves from the draft pool.
The NBA’s own separate withdrawal deadline, which carries more relevance for international players, falls on June 13.
