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Dennis Gates Weighs In On Mizzou's Top-Ranked Freshman Class: The Buzz

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Joey Van Zummeren|
Feb. 9, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates during against the Texas A&M Aggies at Mizzou Arena.
Feb. 9, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates during against the Texas A&M Aggies at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/Missouri on SI

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Missouri Tigers

Missouri men's basketball signed two of three members of what some recruiting sites ranked as the best freshman class in the class of 2026.

Both Toni Bryant and Aidan Chronister signed their letters of intent on the first day of the opening signing period Wednesday. Jason Crowe Jr. is expected to do the same Thursday morning.

Crowe is rated as the second-best, and Bryant as the third-best, recruit in program history, according to 247Sports. Chronister is ranked as the 18th-highest.

Chronister was rated by 247Sports as a four-star forward and the second-highest rated player in the state of Arkansas in the class.

"Young man that I truly believe is is going to be a great basketball player for us," head coach Dennis Gates said in a press conference following Missouri's win Wednesday night. "Had a long lasting relationship with him, his family, being able to understand his needs and his development. He's just gotten better and better."

Meanwhile, Bryant is a composite five-star prospect and the fourth-highest rated power forward in the class.

"A kid that we identified early in the process," Gates said of Bryant."Comes from a great program with a great coach, and they have done a tremendous job in allowing me to build a relationship."

Gates credited the importance of recruiting his current roster for retention, and also to be able to show high school recruits what they can expect with years of development in Missouri's system.

"The most important recruit is the guys on our team," Gates said. "I have to recruit them every day, and that's my job, to build a relationship with them by way of that they're able to show the amount of love that I show, the amount of care that I take with our culture, to our guests. I don't ask them to do nothing different, but be themselves. I encourage our recruits' parents to all talk to our players, go call a random parent (of a current player)."

Here's the morning buzz for Thursday, Nov. 13.

  1. Mizzou's Wednesday Results
  2. Mizzou's Thursday Schedule
  3. Did you notice?
  4. Mizzou Quote of the Day:
  5. On This Day in Mizzou History:
  6. Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Mizzou's Wednesday Results

Men's basketball: Missouri won 83-60 over Minnesota — RECAP

Mizzou's Thursday Schedule

Swim and dive: at the Georgia Tech Invitational on the ACC Network Extra

Did you notice?

  • Missouri softball signed five members to its 2026 class, including Katie Guilliam, a South Carolina native who was rated as the 56th-best player in the class, according to On3.
  • Kellie Harper signed her first freshman class with Missouri, headlined by Natalya Hodge, a four-star point guard from Knoxville, Tennessee.
  • Looking to build off its trip to the NCAA Championship last season, Missouri gymnastics signed an impressive, six-person class. Kendall Morgan is one of the headliners of the group, being rated as a five-star prospect.

Mizzou Quote of the Day:

"He was a great teammate. Obviously, we saw his talent and wanted to nourish it and wanted him to succeed. He is a great guy. A quiet, unsung guy."
Johnny Roland on Roger Wehrli

On This Day in Mizzou History:

November 13, 1943: Mizzou saw its 20-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium come to a close with a 20-13 loss to Oklahoma.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

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Joey Van Zummeren
JOEY VAN ZUMMEREN

Joey Van Zummeren is the lead writer on Missouri Tigers On SI, primarily covering football and basketball, but has written on just about every sport the Tigers play. He’s also a contributing writer to Green Bay Packers On SI. From Belleville, Ill., he joined Missouri Tigers On SI as an intern in 2023.

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