Baylor Basketball's Tounde Yessoufou Named on Julius Erving Preseason Watch List
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Baylor men’s basketball’s Tounde Yessoufou was featured on the 2025-26 Naismith Starting 5 – Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The Julius Erving Award recognized the best small forward in men’s college basketball every year. The Contonou, Benin, native is listed among the top 20 in the country.
Rated as a five-star prospect by ESPN out of St. Joseph High School in California, Yessoufou joined the Bears as the No. 2 player in the State of California and the fifth-best small forward in the 2025 class.
The winner of the 2025 McDonald’s All-American dunk contest helped the Knights reach the California Interscholastic Foundation playoffs his senior season with a 31-4 record. In his previous three seasons, he compiled the Knights an 86-15 record, averaging at least 26 points per game in all three seasons.
In Baylor’s last two exhibition matchups, Yessoufou has put up double-figures, averaging 16.5 points.
The Julius Erving Watch List will narrow down to 10 players in late January, with the final five being announced in March. The award winner and presentation details will be revealed at the Final Four in Indianapolis.
JULIUS ERVING SMALL FORWARD OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
- Karter Knox, Arkansas
- Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
- AJ Dybantsa, BYU
- Dame Sarr, Duke
- Derrion Reid, Oklahoma
- Isiah Harwell, Houston
- Andrej Stojaković, Illinois
- Tucker DeVries, Indiana
- Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
- Coen Carr, Michigan State
- Darrion Williams, NC State
- Devin Royal, Ohio State
- Fletcher Loyer, Purdue
- Miles Byrd, SDSU
- Nate Ament, Tennessee
- Dailyn Swain, Texas
- LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech
- Eric Dailey Jr., UCLA
- Braylon Mullins, UConn
- Chad Baker-Mazara, USC
