WEST HAVEN — Abdou Toure, the top men’s basketball recruit in Connecticut, made his college choice, announcing Friday he will play at Arkansas next season.
A 6-foot-6 wing player, Toure’s finalists included UConn and Providence but he chose to go with Hall of Fame coach John Calipari and the Razorbacks. As UConn turned attention to others, Providence and Arkansas made hard pushes late. Most recruiting analysts rank Toure in the top 35 recruits in the Class of 2026, and predicted he would go to Providence.
“The last 24 hours, it was between them and Providence, it was like a ping-pong, going back and forth,” Toure said, after making his announcement before a crowd of classmates in Notre Dame High’s gym. “At the end, I decided Arkansas. It just came to what my heart felt, my gut. I woke up (Friday) morning, I thought ‘Arkansas, I put this (Arkansas) shirt on, and it felt good.”
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Arkansas coaches traveled to Turkey to watch Toure play in an international competition and first made him the offer. Calipari, who left Kentucky and led Arkansas to a major upset over St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament last season, and Providence coach Kim English visited Toure’s family home in New Haven in recent days.
UConn secured a commitment from Junior County, a 6-4 guard from Utah this week, its first from the Class of 2026, and is hosting Colben Landrew, a top-30 wing, on a visit this weekend.
“I really just didn’t click as well (with UConn),” Toure said. “I just really didn’t see my future there. It was my dream school when I was younger, UConn, but in the long run, I didn’t see myself playing there.”
Toure, an all-stater as a sophomore and junior, state Gatorade Player of the Year, has led Notre Dame to back-to-back state titles. After chasing a three-peat at ND, he will join a conference, the SEC, that sent 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Playing in a power football conference, Arkansas has a large war chest of name-image-likeness and revenue-sharing monies to distribute.
“Abdou is one of the best players in the country, clearly,” Notre Dame coach Jason Shea said. “I think he’s underrated, if I’m being honest. I don’t think there is a better midrange game in the country at his age. That makes him, in a lot of ways, very attractive to NBA teams. When he gets to (the SEC) he’s going to be pushed harder, but that’s only going to make him better. There is really no ceiling to where he is going to end up.”
Meet Abdou Toure, Connecticut’s top-ranked 2026 prospect who received an offer from UConn on Monday
Toure averaged 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Green Knights last season, and had 27 points, 20 rebounds in the state championship final. ND is 53-2 the last two seasons, while Toure, who has 1,477 career points, fielded about 30 scholarship offers.
“Ever since I stepped on the campus I knew there was something different about Arkansas from all of the other schools,” Toure said. “Coach Cal has the knowledge to develop players and get them to the NBA.”
Originally Published: October 3, 2025 at 12:38 PM EDT
