Mizzou's 2026 March Madness Run Built on Player Retention, Development

COLUMBIA, Mo. — In many ways, the fabric of the 2025 Missouri Tigers has been built by player retention. Head coach Dennis Gates has managed to draw back multiple players for multiple seasons, allowing roster continuity and familiarity with his system and coaching style to become a staple in Columbia.

That's a main reason for the success of this year's team. With just one glance at the roster, it's very clear that guys like Mark Mitchell, T.O. Barrett, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II have impacted this team in a variety of positive ways.

Without Mitchell, who leads the Tigers in all three major statistical categories, there's no telling where Missouri would stand in terms of March Madness and the postseason in general. He's made multiple game-saving plays throughout the season, including two games at the end of the season with 30 or more points.

Pierce has taken strides as a junior and Barrett has broken out, becoming the likely point guard of the future for the Tigers. Even Robinson, who's struggled in 2025, has made impactful plays that have led the Tigers to their 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament against seven-seeded Miami.

Not all of those players had to come back, according to Gates. It shouldn't come as a surprise that some of the best players on Missouri's roster last year had opportunities to go elsewhere, play more and make more money. Some of the most important players on last year's team that have been crucial to Missouri's March Madness run this year made the season-changing decision not to.

"Mark Mitchell didn't have to come back," Gates told reporters March 15. "Ultimately, in the transaction world, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson, they turned down a lot of money just to come back and I appreciate that."

Enter the importance of NIL funding for Missouri's roster.

At this point in the NIL and player-funding era, there's no such thing as having too much money to give to new players, while also using it to retain the ones you have. Keeping players like Mitchell, Pierce and Robinson has been crucial to Missouri's success and it's hard to imagine that work wasn't done in the offseason to keep them around.

Because of that, Gates put out a call for action on Sunday evening in the wake of the Tigers earning a bid into the NCAA Tournament. He specifically narrowed that call toward businesses in St. Louis, the location of where the Tigers play in the first round.

"If you're out there listening, we need help," Gates said. "It's always good NIL deals in St. Louis that can take place for us to keep our players on this roster the right way. There are a lot of businesses in the Saint Louis area. I can't list them all. We need you. We need your help. We need your support."

Gates' streak of retaining key players didn't start with the ones on this year's roster. Guys like Kobe Brown, Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill all stuck around in Columbia for at least two seasons before heading off to the NBA or graduating. All of those players were ones who made significant marks on each of those rosters.

"I just thank the families that believe in me to have their child play for their institution under my watch," Gates said. "Kobe Brown didn't have to stay here, but he chose to stay here. And I thank his family, because that's the foundation. Tamar Bates didn't have to come back. Caleb Grill did not have to come back."

At this point in Gates' tenure with Missouri, he has a track record of making it to the NCAA Tournament. The narratives surrounding many of his teams have certainly been unique during that time, but there's no denying that he's been able to drive his teams into the postseason.

The rosters he has built, both by retaining players and adding freshmen or transfers, have also been unique. He's been able to win with a variety of different players, many of whom were at different stops in their careers.

"For me, at the end of the day, I'm going to continue to give my very best and my players, no matter who I recruit (and) they're going to do the exact same," Gates said. "For us to be able to sit here being at three NCAA Tournaments in the last four years, it comes with the support of many people."

The Tigers start their March Madness run at 9:10 p.m. on Friday inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, taking on the No. 7-seeded Miami Hurricanes.

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