Players from all around the country can use the college basketball transfer site to find a new home during a 15-day window that ends on April 21. The portal officially opens at midnight on Tuesday. Due to the portal’s recent transformation into a mass-entry technique that allows any player to enter any offseason, standing rosters are now unknown unless they are disclosed.
With great scorers like Mark Mitchell, Caleb Grill, Tamar Bates, Jayden Stone, and more being obtained through the exponentially-rising system of trades, the portal has been crucial to Missouri’s success in every season under head coach Dennis Gates. Due to losses like Anthony Robinson II, Marcus Allen, and Peyton Marshall, the Tigers have also experienced the opposite end of the portal.
Given that incoming five-star freshman Jason Crowe will probably be the team’s standout player, Missouri’s 2026–27 campaign may not rely as much on the portal as previous editions, but it will still be crucial. In order to win the offseason, Missouri needs focus on these areas in the portal.
Acquire a starting center
Under Gates, Missouri hasn’t had the same starting center for back-to-back seasons. The position was filled by Small-ball and Mohammed Diarra in 2022–2023, Josh Gray in 2024–2025, a revolving cast in 2023–2024, and Shawn Phillips Jr. in 2025–2026. There will be a new starting center at Missouri the following season after Phillips used up his last season of eligibility.
The future starter is probably not on the roster right now. Trent Burns, a redshirt freshman who averaged 2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks in 8.2 minutes per game throughout the season, had moments of outstanding play in the second half of a demanding SEC schedule but wasn’t reliable enough to secure the starting position before an offseason of movement.
Luke Northweather and Nicholas Randall, two more backup bigs, have not been reported to return or transfer, but neither player performed well enough to be considered for a starting position in the upcoming season. Northweather did not play in February or March, while Randall played a total of eighteen minutes during both months.
It would be unprecedented and audacious for Missouri to start any of those three, making the gateway the best choice. Missouri should prioritize adding one of the many excellent bigs in the 2026 portal class.
Retain T.O. Barrett
Seven games into the Southeastern Conference season, T.O. Barrett replaced Robinson as the starting point guard and held the position for the remainder of the campaign. With 46/20.5/79.1 shooting splits, he finished the season averaging 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. The sophomore finished the season in a bit of a slump, shooting less than 40% in his final four games, including an NCAA Tournament 0-for-7 effort against Miami.
Barrett has not declared his return to the program for the upcoming season, but Burns and Trent Pierce have. Barrett has little motivation to quit despite the season’s disappointing conclusion because he will probably lose the starting point guard position in 2026–2027.
However, if Barrett is not retained, Pierce will be the only returning starter for the upcoming season, so he can still look into other choices. For a Missouri team that has returned two or more players to play more than 20 minutes a game in each of the previous three seasons, that would be quite the change of scenery.
Aaron Rowe redshirted and Crowe was still in high school, thus losing Barrett would also mean Missouri wouldn’t have a point guard available to play a single minute of collegiate basketball in 2025–2026.
Add 3-point shooting
Although it wasn’t the team’s greatest flaw, Missouri’s 3-point shooting was far from a strength the previous season, and it will only get worse. Pierce is the only returning Tiger to have hit 20 or more 3-pointers in the previous season after four of the Tigers’ five top scorers—Jacob Crews, Mitchell, Stone, and Robinson—left the team.
Perhaps the most important X-factor for Missouri’s offense last season was 3-point shooting. The 3-point shooting around Mitchell was what maximized the offense, even if he was the engine that kept it going. The offense as a whole suffered when shooting faltered, making Mitchell’s life much more challenging.
In order for the offense to succeed next season, Missouri must ensure that Crowe, who is expected to be the team’s top scorer, has a solid support network.
