OU women’s basketball announced the signing of Daffa Cissoko, a 6-foot-4 forward from St. Maurice in Paris, France.
She will join the Sooners as a freshman with four remaining years of eligibility after spending her prep years at Pays Voironnais Basket Club in French Ligue 2. Cissoko joins a stacked freshman class with No. 1 overall recruit Aaliyah Chavez and Ireland standout Emma Tolan.
The 2025-26 season will be OU’s first with multiple international players since 2018-19 when the Sooners had Puerto Rico’s Gileysa Penzo and Australia’s Chloe Bloom on their roster. Cissoko is the first French player to sign with the program.
“We’re so excited to have Daffa join our program,” OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said in a release Thursday. “She’s a great player with incredible length and athleticism, and she never stops working on the boards. Our fans will love the energy and spark that she brings. She’s been playing against professionals in France, so she’s ready to make an impact here in Norman. We can’t wait for her to get here and be part of our OU family.”
Basketball runs in Cissoko’s family. Her older brother Sidy Cissoko plays for the Portland Trail Blazers and her father, Yaya, represented Senegal at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Daffa Cissoko led PVBC to an under-18 national championship in the Champions de France tournament this year on an undefeated 10-0 run for the title.
OU’s 2025-26 schedule has yet to be released, but the Sooners are confirmed to play NC State in the SEC/ACC challenge on Dec. 3.