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We’ve seen what new Kentucky coach Mark Pope can do when working on the fly, compiling a considerable roster from college hoops transfers and leftovers in the wake of the departure of John Calipari. But we still don’t know whether he has the chops to deliver for Kentucky recruiting on commitments from the nation’s top players. There is one ongoing test case, though: California prep wing Tounde Yessoufou
Yessoufou is ranked No. 25 overall at ESPN, a four-star recruit and one of the top wing players in the nation. He is No. 16 at On3 Sports, and at 24/7, he is ranked No. 38 nationally. Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that.
He is a top player, and word from the recruiting site League Ready is that Pope and the new UK staff is making its push to land Yessoufou.
According to a post on Twitter/X from 24/7 High School Hoops: “2025 Top-25 recruit Tounde Yessoufou tells @LeagueRDY he’s hearing the most from these schools: Kentucky Tennessee Arizona Texas UCLA USC Stanford.
“Yessoufou is a tough, physical forward who has been one of the top players on the @NikeEYB through the first two sessions. A name to watch.”
Kentucky Recruiting Lure to Be Tested With Mark Pope
Pope will be one of the names to watch in terms of what happens with Yessoufou, and with recruiting in general. He is entering this season with a grace period, but that will dry up very soon. Kentucky is not listed in the early Top 25s of any major site, including ESPN, CBS and On3 Sports.
That’s not an indictment in itself. And Pope does not need to have Kentucky recruiting mentioned alongside every top prospect in the nation, as was the case with Calipari—who too often won recruiting battles but had trouble translating talent into workable team rosters. But he will need to beat out other top programs for the players he thinks best fit his style of play.
Yessoufou could be one.
“I play really hard, especially on defense,” Yessoufou told On3. “I keep myself going by locking people up, getting rebounds, and pushing it. On offense, I try to attack the basket and get the other team in foul trouble, and make my free throws. My biggest improvement this year is reading the game. Know when to go and push it and when to slow it down.”
He plays with considerable size and power, per NBA Draft Room: “Tounde is a big-bodied and powerful small forward who is a load to handle when he gets downhill and takes the ball to the basket. At this point he does most of his scoring in the lane, using his size and power to punish defenders on his way to the rim.”
Tounde Yessoufou Will Be Hotly Contested
Yessoufou has yet to visit Kentucky, and has not had an offer from the team. Though he has had only one official visit, to Washington last year, there will be plenty of competition. Yessoufou said he has a visit lined up with Arizona and has been in close contact with coaches at Kansas.
Former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman—whose departure was the first domino in Calipari leaving Lexington to go to Fayetteville—is in contact with Yessoufou as well, now hoping to keep him in-state at Southern California.
According to the On3 site KSR, the expectation is that assistant coach Jason Hart, a respected NBA veteran who went to high school in Inglewood, will work the recruitment of Yessoufou.
“We can anticipate Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart — who hails from California and has coached in the area for over a decade — to lead the charge in this recruitment,” the site wrote.
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