Tounde Yessoufou
St. Joseph Knights
PositionSmall forward
Personal information
Born (2006-05-15) May 15, 2006
NationalityBeninese
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school

Tounde Yessoufou (born May 15, 2006) is a Beninese basketball player who currently attends St. Joseph High School. He is considered one of the top players in the 2025 recruiting class.

High school career

Freshman season

A native of Benin, Yessoufou moved to the United States just prior to starting his freshman year to play basketball at St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, California, and stayed with a host family.[1] He arrived at the school because his friend and fellow Benin native, Candace Kpetikou, played for the St. Joseph girls' basketball team.[1]

In his high school debut against Pioneer Valley, Yessoufou scored 20 points before ending the game on a backboard-breaking third-quarter dunk.[2] In January 2022, he helped St. Joseph win the Alaska Airlines Classic and earned tournament MVP honors.[3] He recorded 21 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in the title game victory over East Anchorage, snapping their 35-game winning streak.[3] As a freshman, Yessoufou averaged 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor, leading St. Joseph to a 27–4 record and an appearance in the CIF Central Section Open Division title game.[4][5][6] He was named the Mountain League MVP and the Santa Maria Times All-Area MVP.[4][5]

Yessoufou played for Team WhyNot in the offseason, including in the Peach Jam U15 tournament.[7] He was named the most outstanding player (MOP) at the Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp, as well as his team's MOP in the camp's Top 30 Cream of the Crop All-Star Game where he recorded 28 points and nine rebounds.[8]

Sophomore season

As a sophomore in 2022–23, Yessoufou averaged 27.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 3.7 steals per game, leading the school to a 28–7 record and the No. 9 ranking in the state.[4] His rebounds and blocks were down due to the surge of senior center Caedin Hamilton.[9] Yessoufou led the Knights to the CIF Central Section Division I title, scoring 16 points in the championship game victory over Clovis West.[10]

Yessoufou contributed 29 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the CIF NorCal Open Division semifinals; St. Joseph defeated Dougherty Valley 87–76.[11] He then recorded a game-high 27 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in their 72–58 win over Modesto Christian to win the NorCal Open Division Regional championship.[12][13] Yessoufou fell just short of leading St. Joseph to a state title, as he was limited to 14 points in the 76–65 defeat to Harvard-Westlake in the Open Division state championship game.[14]

Yessoufou repeated as the Mountain League MVP and the Santa Maria Times All-Area MVP and was named the CalHiSports State Sophomore of the Year.[4][9] He was also named to the MaxPreps all-state third-team.[15] In the offseason, Yessoufou again played for Team WhyNot, playing up a grade on the 17U Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit.[16]

Recruiting

Yessoufou is a consensus top 20 recruit and one of the top players in the 2025 class, according to major recruiting services. He is rated a five-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN, as well as a four-star recruit by 247Sports.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tounde Yessoufou
SF		 Santa Maria, CA St. Joseph (CA) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 14th  247Sports: 15th  ESPN: 16th
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Cress, Kenny (February 5, 2023). "Tounde Yessoufou blossoms into top recruit at St. Joseph". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Bailey, Joe (November 30, 2021). "GAME OVER: St. Joseph freshman ends game with dunk that breaks backboard". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Williams, Van (January 22, 2022). "St. Joseph rallies to beat East Anchorage in terrific title game at Alaska Airlines Classic". Alaska Sports Report. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Boys BB: More State Players of the Year". CalHiSports. April 7, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Cress, Kenny (June 10, 2022). "St. Joseph's Tounde Yessoufou named All-Area MVP as freshman". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Cress, Kenny (December 15, 2022). "Five-star recruit Tounde Yessoufou leads Knights into 2022-23 campaign". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  7. ↑ Zagoria, Adam (July 24, 2022). "Class of 2025 standout Tounde Yessoufou says five schools involved in his recruitment". Zags Blog. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  8. ↑ Burlison, Frank (September 26, 2022). "Frank's Top 15 performers for Frosh/Soph All-West". Burlison on Basketball. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Cress, Kenny (April 18, 2023). "No surprise: St. Joseph sophomore Tounde Yessoufou repeats as All-Area MVP". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Foreman, Dylan (February 25, 2023). "St. Joseph reclaims Central Section title beating Clovis West 74-58". KSBY. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Stephens, Mitch (April 3, 2023). "Dougherty Valley's do-it-all Ryan Beasley is Chronicle's boys All-Metro Player of the Year". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ Hamilton, Quinton (March 8, 2023). "Davis' 26 not enough to propel Modesto Christian to second straight NorCal Open Title". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Stephens, Mitch (March 8, 2023). "Photos: On the road again — St. Joseph-Santa Maria takes down defending champion Modesto Christian in NorCal Open final". SBLive. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (March 11, 2023). "Harvard-Westlake defeats St. Joseph for the state boys' basketball Open Division title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  15. ↑ Askeland, Kevin (April 21, 2023). "High school basketball: Caleb Foster of Notre Dame headlines MaxPreps California All-State Teams". MaxPreps. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ Shaw, Jamie (May 5, 2023). "Top 15 2025 Tounde Yessoufou has Arizona, UCLA recruiting him". On3.com. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
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