EMMITSBURG, Md. (October 15, 2026) – Over the past few seasons, Mount St. Mary's men's and women's basketball fostered a connection with premier talent, both players and coaches, from the nation of Senegal.
 
Sidy Sall joined the Mount as an assistant coach upon the hiring of Donny Lind in 2024. With him came Abdou Khadre Kébé, who this season was named a unanimous Preseason All-Metro First Team selection prior to start of his junior season. One year later, Yakhya Diop came and is now entering his sophomore campaign. For 2026-27, the women's team added a Senegalese player of their own, with Yacine Ndiaye transferring from Rutgers.
 
Most of the players and Sall started out playing soccer growing up. Kébé and N'Diaye started playing basketball with friends, Sall was introduced to the sport by family, and Diop was inspired by a coach.
 
All four of their journeys to compete at the collegiate level began at the SEED Academy, located in Thies, which is on the outskirts on the Senegalese capital, Dakar. The institution launched in 2002 as the first basketball student-athlete academy in Africa. Ten years later, the school invited girls to study at the academy to study as well. In 2017, the school partnered with the NBA Academy. SEED Academy provides an opportunity for youth in Senegal, which has one of the youngest populations in the world – half are under 18 – but only one-third receive a secondary-level education.
 
Both Kébé and Diop went on and honed their skills at the NBA Academy, which provides top international high school age prospects with a holistic development approach to maximize their potential, according to the institution's Instagram page. Launched in 2016, the program boasts locations in Australia, Mexico – where Kébé competed – and Senegal, where Diop played. Meanwhile, N'Diaye came stateside early, competing in prep school at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois. She started her college career at UNCG before transferring for a season with Rutgers last year.

 
Application processes for both SEED Academy and the NBA Academy are selective. There are only around 25 spots at SEED, open to athletes from 54 nations of Africa. Kébé found a pathway to NBA Academy Latin America after being on the cusp on admittance to the African institution.
 
The group follows in the footsteps of Sall, who attended East Mississippi Community College and Christian Brothers University in Memphis. After graduating, he played professional basketball in Bahrain, Bolivia and Morocco before an injury necessitated the switch to coaching. He worked as a youth coach with the Memphis Grizzlies before working with the NBA Academy. In 2024, Sall served as an assistant coach for the Senegal Women's Basketball National Team.
 
Mount St. Mary's saw an immediate benefit from the connection with Senegal, as Sall and Kébé helped the Mount win the 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Championship.
 
The 2026-27 men's basketball team opens their home schedule on October 28 with an exhibition versus Navy, followed by a road game at Xavier November 2 to start the regular season. The women open their regular season on November 2 as well, hosting Navy at Knott Arena.