Next season, Missouri basketball will have a fourth-year senior on its roster, something that has become uncommon in the NIL and transfer portal era of college basketball.
Trent Pierce, who joined the program as a member of the Tigers’ Class of 2023, has agreed to return to Mizzou for the 2026–2027 campaign. On Monday, Pierce verified the information by sharing the original scoop from college basketball source Joe Tipton to his X/Twitter account.
Only 22 high-major men’s college basketball players from the previous season graduated in 2026 from the same institution they enrolled in four years prior, according to research by Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports.
Point guard Anthony Robinson II, who signed with the Tigers in the same year as Pierce, revealed on Monday that he will spend his senior season elsewhere and plans to use the transfer portal when it opens between April 7 and 21. Mizzou might have had two of those players next season.
With the program, Pierce’s role has gradually grown every year. He was a reserve on the miserable 2023–24 team, a rotation member in 2024–25, a full-time starter, and an important member of the squad last season.
Last season, the 6-foot-10 Tulsa, Oklahoma, wing averaged 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for Mizzou. Pierce possesses a smooth jumper and had his best shooting season with the program last year, shooting 38.4% from three-point range. He missed all of MU’s nonconference games due to an injury.
In addition to adding three freshmen in a highly anticipated 2026 recruiting class, Mizzou is able to return eight players.
Now that collegiate basketball rosters are limited to 15 players, Mizzou has the opportunity to add four players this offseason. As more portal decisions are made, that figure is probably going to change.
Pierce, who averaged 28.4 minutes per game in the 2025–26 season and is expected to start in his senior year, is one player who won’t be portaling. Pierce spends most of his time at the wing and forward positions, where the Tigers still need depth.
Mizzou can bring back Nicholas Randall, who played scant minutes as a true freshman, and Annor Boateng, who is still uncertain about returning by the start of next season due to an injury sustained in February, at the three and four places.
Jevon Porter is a stretch forward, and Missouri is probably going to request a medical redshirt for him. Porter participated in more than 30% of Mizzou’s games last season, above the NCAA’s requirement for a medical waiver, therefore it is uncertain whether that appeal will be successful.
To complement Pierce on the wing, the Tigers will probably recruit a 3-and-D perimeter player like Caleb Grill or D’Moi Hodge. A forward with some physicality, like Mark Mitchell, is also high on the offseason target list.
But in the 2026–2027 season, Pierce is a solid, starting-caliber player that Gates and company should develop around.
At his best, he is a long-armed perimeter defender who can obstruct passing lanes and extend the floor on offense, while he still has room for improvement as a defender.
He will be the most seasoned player on Missouri’s roster for the upcoming season after working under Gates and the Missouri coaches for four years. He is probably one of the few players who will play their whole career at one institution.
