Cal Signs Mady Sissoko

BERKELEY – Mady Sissoko has signed to play for the California men's basketball program, head coach Mark Madsen announced Thursday. Sissoko played the previous four seasons at Michigan State and will join the Golden Bears as a graduate student for the 2024-25 campaign.
 
Sissoko – a 6-foot-9, 250-pound center who hails from Bafoulabe, Mali, West Africa – has played in 121 career games, including six NCAA Tournament contents. The experienced big man had an increased role for the Spartans as a junior and senior, as he averaged 5.5 rebounds while shooting 58.9% from the floor in 18.0 minutes played per game the past two seasons.
 
"Our basketball program is immediately better in every way with Mady on the roster," Madsen said. "He knows what it takes to win consistently at a high level, and he's going to impact in countless ways on the court. Mady is a ferocious defender and is polished and poised on the offensive end. Our Cal Family is going to love getting to know Mady this upcoming season and I can't wait to get to work with him."
 
Sissoko averaged career highs of 6.0 rebounds and 4.9 points per game on 60.6% shooting from the floor (57-of-94) as a junior in 2022-23 when he started 30 of 31 games for Michigan State and helped the Spartans win 21 games on the way to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 5.1 RPG and shot a career-best 70.5% at the free-throw line in 15.3 minutes per game as a senior, making 26 starts in 31 games.
 
Sissoko came off the bench in 55 total games between his freshman and sophomore seasons in East Lansing, Michigan. He's a career 59.3% shooter and has totaled 61 blocks, 39 of which were recorded in the past two seasons.
 
Sissoko – who arrived in the United States in 2016 – earned his undergraduate degree in environmental science from Michigan State this spring. He completed his prep career at Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) in 2020 prior to heading to East Lansing.
 
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