3 Mizzou Players Who Improved Most During Offseason: The Extra Point

These three underclassmen were handpicked by their teammates as the most improved players over the offseason.

Nov 8, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Annor Boateng (6) shoots a layup against the Howard Bison during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Watch the video below as Missouri Tigers on SI basketball reporter Killian Wright names three players who've had the most improved offseason, according to their teammates.

Welcome to Missouri Tigers On SI's "Extra Point," a video series featuring the site's Missouri beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers provide analysis on a topic concerning the Tigers or the landscape of college sports.

In a recent video on Missouri Basketball's X account, the question was posed; Who has improved the most this summer?

Most Improved for the summer goes to … 📈#MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/jEmS8Yqmms

— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) August 8, 2025

The poll among the team ended in an overwhelming vote supporting three players in specific –– rising sophomore Annor Boateng, and the two freshman in Nicholas Randall and Aaron Rowe.

Vote tallies

Player	Votes	Voted by
Nicholas Randall	5	Aaron Rowe, Trent Pierce, T.O. Barrett, Sebastian Mack, Trent Burns
Aaron Rowe	4	JeVon Porter, Trent Pierce, T.O. Barrett, Sebastian Mack
Annor Boateng	3	Annor Boateng, Sean Conaty, Anthony Robinson II,

The Tigers retained plenty of talent over the course of the transfer portal season, bringing back one of the highest usage rates among the entire Southeastern Conference. Still, with losses like Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill, Missouri will be banking on internal development from players to take leaps into larger roles next season.

Nicholas Randall

Randall, a St. Louis native, was ranked a 3-star prospect by 247sports in his high school days. The Tigers were the first program to offer him a scholarship back on June 13, 2022, and ended as the only program he took a visit to, despite offers from schools like Kansas State, Tennessee, Illinois and more.

He stands at a stocky 6-foot-7, 225 pounds and projects to be a small-ball big at the next level. Given his awkward tweener build of being between a forward and a true five, questions were raised on how his game would translate.

Jan 3, 2025; Gilbert, AZ, USA; Arizona Compass Prep forward Nicholas Randall (24) against CIA Bella Vista (AZ) during the Hoophall West High School Invitational at Highland High School. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Judging off his teammates support, it would appear that Randall is adjusting to the game perfectly fine, and growing as a new piece of a tight-knit Tigers team. When asked who he thought had improved the most over the summer, Randall had opted for the humble, team-oriented answer instead.

"I think our chemistry, and camradarie has gotten a lot better," Randall said. "We like being around each other a lot more, and a lot of others tuff. Teamwork, you know, we trust each other a lot more."

Aaron Rowe

Rowe, the fellow freshman, committed to Missouri in December of 2023, staying local in Columbia after spending his high school career with Father Tolton High School. Rowe, similar to Randall, had questions regarding how his body would translate to the physicality of the SEC. Rowe stands at 6-foot, 155 pounds, making him an undersized guard in the college basketball scene.

However, his improvement credited by teammates has also been showcased on camera as well, as clips of Rowe holding his own on defense have been showcased on the Mizzou Basketball X account.

Aaron Rowe = BIG GUARD 😤#MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/QYdRsy08YL

— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) June 17, 2025

Rowe's a seriously talented scoring and playmaking guard, who has the tools to put together a career as a nice spark-plug with the Tigers. As his teammates cite him as one of the most improved players over the offseason, Rowe seems to be coming along just fine.

Annor Boateng

Boateng was the only non-freshman to be named among the most-improved players, which speaks to his year-to-year growth. Hopes were high for him to be an immediate contributor last season, as head coach Dennis Gates even started him for a slate of seven non-conference games early in the season.

However, Boateng didn't have an immediate adjustment to the SEC, and looks to be taking the route that many freshman around the nation do anyway –– learning and growing. Coming into his sophomore year, Boateng has all the athleticism in the world, and has now had a full season and offseason to refine his offensive game and become a missing piece to the Tigers' puzzle.

⛵️ initiates the offense and caps it off with a 3️⃣@annor2024 // #MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/YXLH8sxpIb

— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) August 4, 2025

Boateng has the biggest potential to play a rotational role next season, as he could easily slot in minutes both at the off-guard and the wing. Only time will tell how successful Missouri's offseason has been, but according to the Tigers, it's been full of improvement.