Center Transfer Portal Targets for Mizzou Basketball

Finding a starting center should be Missouri basketball's top priority of the 2026 offseason.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it's been a top priority for every offseason under head coach Dennis Gates — the program lacks stability at the position. From a mix of small-ball and Mohammed Diarra in 2022-23, to Connor Vanover in 2023-24, to Josh Gray in 2024-25 and finally Shawn Phillips Jr. in 2025-26, Missouri hasn't had the same starting center in consecutive seasons in Gates' tenure.

Phillips, a senior transfer, was the Tigers' only viable option at the position more times than not in the 2025-26 season. He exhausted his final season of eligibility, leaving Trent Burns, Luke Northweather and Nicholas Randall as the only remaining bigs on the roster. The trio was streaky at best, as they combined to average 5.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game on the season — Northweather didn't play a game in February or March.

Missouri desperately needs help at the center position, wether its a rim-protector, post-scorer, floor-spacer, transition athlete, or ideally, an option who can do all. Here's some of the top bigs set to enter the transfer portal that the Tigers can target upon the transfer portal's April 7 official opening.

Anton Bonke

Bonke would be quite the change of pace from Missouri's last two starting centers. He may not be the same vertical athlete Phillips was or the lumbering enforcer as Gray, but he brings a post-scoring presence that Missouri hasn't had under Gates.

Bonke, a true 7-footer, averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game with Charlotte the past season, and enters the transfer portal as top post-oriented option. He also has a connection to Missouri, as basketball alum Kim English was Bonke's head coach for the 2024-25 season at Providence.

Sananda Fru

Fru is set to hit the portal after one season of college basketball, but will likely only have one season of eligibility remaining, as he was labeled as a junior during his debut 2025-26 season at Louisville. The reason? Fru spent four seasons with Loewen Braunschweig in the German BBL, the last of which he was a heavy contributor to a FIBA Europe Cup squad.

In his stateside debut season, he averaged 9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks in 22 minutes per game for the Cardinals. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound big-man brings viable size and experience to immediately contribute to Missouri's rotation and would contend for the starting job.

Baye Ndongo

Ndongo brings three seasons of starting experience at Georgia Tech to the transfer portal, all of which he's averaged at least 11 points, eight rebounds and 1 block per game in. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound center is a tad undersized but uses his athleticism to compete with other high-major giants.

Despite Georgia Tech's abysmal 2025-26 season, the junior big man shined, dropping a career-high 27 points against a North Carolina squad dominating the ACC. Ndongo will now have one season of eligibility remaining.

Ndongo also makes for a solid roll-man, which should be a top trait Missouri looks for in the portal, as incoming five-star guard Jason Crowe Jr. will certainly need a viable partner for pick-and-roll sets.

Somto Cyril

Cyril immediately becomes one of the top players in the portal, entering as a four-star transfer off a breakout sophomore season in which he averaged 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in just 21.2 minutes per game while shooting 75.9% from the field for a competitive Georgia squad that made the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-11, 260-pound center has two seasons of eligibility left, and while a poor rebounder, could play a vital role as an athletic rim-protector in Missouri's system. Cyril's addition would also mean Missouri should, and perhaps would, target a strong rebounder.

Cyril has a connection to the program in the form of general manager Tim Fuller, the former vice president of Overtime Elite who once successfully recruited Cyril to the league.

Kyle Evans

Evans enters the portal with four seasons of collegiate experience, two with Colorado State and two with UC Irvine. He averaged 12.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and a nation-leading 3.3 blocks per game in 2025-26, starting all 35 games for the Anteaters.

The 6-foot-10 big is now a four-star transfer entry with the potential to make the leap to a high-major school for the first time in his collegiate career. Evans Missouri hasn't had a player average more than 1.5 blocks per game under Gates, making him an instant candidate for the best shot-blocker in the era — he's a clear choice of target.

Chol Machot

Machot was on Missouri's radar as a high school recruit in the class of 2024, as Missouri put in an offer on the 7-footer. He instead committed to Mississippi State, where he played redshirted in his freshman season before transferring down to Charleston.

Machot averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and an astounding 2.5 blocks in just 19.8 minutes per game in the 2025-26 season — increased minutes could lead to absurd rim-protection numbers. Now with two seasons of eligibility remaining, Machot enters the portal as a four-star transfer, and reunion with Misouri could be in play.

Ja'Quay Randolph

Randolph spent the 2025-26 season at Southern Wesleyan, but the low-level competition isn't fully wiping him off radars. His monster averages of 20.8 points and 15.4 rebounds per game helped earn the a four-star transfer rating, per On3.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound athletic big can provide services as a backup rim-runner to bring juice to the second unit.

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