Mizzou Lands Former West Virginia Guard in Transfer Portal

The Tigers have finally added another player through the transfer portal in a former high-volume scoring guard.

Nov 10, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Detroit Mercy Titans guard Jayden Stone (14) shoots against Cincinnati Bearcats forward John Newman III (15) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

For those Missouri Tiger fans who were looking for more transfer portal activity from Dennis Gates and his staff, that wish has come true.

Gates and the Tigers have added former West Virginia and Detroit Mercy guard Jayden Stone, according to Tobias Bass of The Athletic.

Stone did not play a single game this season for the Mountaineers because of an upper-body injury after transferring to West Virginia last offseason. During that transfer portal cycle, 247Sports listed him as the 368th best transfer in the class. Stone is currently unranked in this transfer portal class.

The Perth, Washington native had a very productive 2023-24 season with Detroit Mercy before transferring, averaging 20.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game on 42.2% shooting and 31.2% from the 3-point line.

The season before that was cut short for Stone, only appearing in 13 games. He still averaged 13.9 points per game and shot an impressive 51.9% from the perimeter and 49.2% from the field.

This is the fifth transfer addition Gates and the Tigers have made this offseason. Stone is one of two guard additions, joining UCLA's Sebastian Mack in that group. The others are a group of big men in Shawn Phillips Jr., Jevon Porter and Luke Northweather.

To many people's disdain, the Tigers did not make any huge splashes in the transfer portal this offseason. Stone could be the final addition for the Tigers despite potentially having another roster spot open.

Stone will bring some much-needed proven scoring ability to the Tigers' roster. He's able to do it with high and low volume and has shown that he can score at all three levels. With some consistent playing time and a healthy stretch of games, Stone could be an important piece of Gates' offense this coming season.