Jevon Porter's Status Revealed for Mizzou's Road Trip to Kentucky

Jevon Porter will miss a third-straight game for Missouri, with the forward being ruled out for the Tigers' game at Kentucky on Wednesday in the SEC Availability Report. He suffered a leg injury leading up to Missouri's game against Illinois on Dec. 22.

In the first 12 games of the year, Porter averaged 6.2 points, four rebounds and 1.6 assists. He started in the first 10 games of the season before being replaced by forward Jacob Crews in the starting lineup.

Missouri has been working its way toward 100% after having multiple players deal with injuries throughout non-conference play. Now, Porter is the only player remaining on the availability report. Guard Jayden Stone and forward Trent Pierce both returned for Missouri's SEC opener against Florida, a 76-74 win for Missouri.

Both Pierce and Stone made clear impacts in their first game back, with Stone scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds, while Pierce scored 10 and grabbed five rebounds. Gates insisted the return of those two would change the dynamic of the rest of the team. What ended up being by far the Tigers' best performance of the season was plenty of evidence for that claim.

Kentucky has a completely clean availability report after also dealing with some injuries through non-conference play.

Most notably, forward Jayden Quaintance, has returned in the last three games after missing the start of the season as he recovered from a leg injury he suffered in March of 2025. He was rated as the tenth-best prospect available in this year's portal cycle. Missouri tried to recruit the 6-foot-10, 255-pound Cleveland native both out of high school and as a transfer.

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Jayden Quaintance (21) shows emotion against the St. John Red Storm in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Gates has connections with the Quaintance family, as Gates' brother, Armon, played with Jayden's father at Kent State. When Gates coached at Cleveland State, he lived close to the family.

"Being able to see that young man continue to grow, get through some adversities, I'm just glad that he's healthy now," Gates said in a virtual press conference Tuesday. "I don't want to play against him, but he's a heck of a player. There is no doubt that we recruited very hard, that I wanted him to be a part of our institution and our fabric. And I truly believe that he is far beyond his years."

Kentucky also recently returned guard Jaland Lowe, a four-star transfer, from injury. He's been battling a right-shoulder injury, causing him to miss seven of Kentucky's games so far this season. The shoulder injury does still limit Lowe, but he played 27 minutes against Alabama on Saturday, and is expected to be available against the Tigers.

Lowe is coming off a season at Pitt where he was named to the All-ACC third-team, averaging 16.8 points per game.

Missouri will take on Kentucky at Rupp Arena at 6 p.m. Wednesday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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