Former Seton Hall big man Yacine Toumi transfers to Hawai’i

HONOLULU – From the Big East to the Big West.

Former Seton Hall forward Yacine Toumi will spend his final season of eligibility on the hardwood with the University of Hawai’i, announcing his commitment to the Rainbow Warriors on Thursday. The 6-foot-10 graduate student appeared in 29 games last year in his lone season with the Pirates, averaging 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per contest.

“I’m excited to start this journey at Hawai’i and do something big,” Toumi told HSRN over the phone. “I had a pretty good connection with the staff [and] felt like we were on the same page through the process.”

Toumi can provide an immediate boost to the Rainbow Warrior frontcourt, showing off the ability to operate effectively from the mid-post and elbows while adding a strong presence on the glass over his time at the college level. In two seasons at Evansville before transferring to Seton Hall, he averaged more than 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while competing in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A native of Tunisa that resides in Meudon, France, Toumi is a well-traveled individual. The forward competed in the 2018 FIBA U18 African Championships for the Tunisian National Team before moving to the United States to spend his senior year of high school at Lee Academy in Maine. After his prep days ended, Toumi kicked off his college career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and appeared in just seven games before transferring after the year to Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

Following a calendar cycle reset at the junior college level, Toumi again found a new home ahead of the 2022-23 season, this time in Indiana as he made his way to the University of Evansville. With returning (and building) confidence, Toumi spent the next two years averaging double figures ranking among the top 15 rebounders in the entire MVC as he played a key role in the Purple Aces’ rotation.

While at Evansville, Toumi crossed over with fellow transfer Tanner Cuff and helped the Purple Aces to a first-round conference tournament win before falling to eventual MVC champion Drake in the quarterfinals. The forward started all 33 games that he appeared in that season for the Purple Aces, leading the team in rebounding while chipping in 10.8 points per night and shooting an efficient 54.3% from the field.

The duo will look to bring that same effectiveness to the islands and build off a 2023-24 campaign that allowed each player to flourish in new roles. Toumi continues to follow the offseason trend of UH bringing in experienced transfer portal players who have been key parts of winning rosters previously at the college level.

Toumi joins Cuff, Hunter Erickson, Isaac Johnson, Dre Bullock, Ike Finlinson, Isaiah Kerr and Jalen Myers as additions to the Rainbow Warrior 2025-26 roster via transfer. Three-star prep guard Hunter Carter is the ninth member of UH’s recruiting class, leaving a couple roster spots open still after Roy Igwe signed a professional deal to play basketball in Japan at the start of June.

You can stay up to date on the latest in Hawai’i men’s basketball recruiting news with HSRN’s “UH Men’s Basketball 2025 Recruiting Tracker” or by following Paul Brecht on X/Twitter, @12brecht.