Top Priorities for Mizzou Basketball in the Transfer Portal

Missouri needs to attack these weaknesses in the transfer portal.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers guard T.O. Barrett (5) reacts after a play during the second half against the Miami (FL) Hurricanes during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The college basketball transfer portal officially opens midnight Tuesday, beginning a 15-day window closing April 21 in which players around the nation can enter the portal in search of a new home. In recent seasons, the portal has transformed into a mass-entrance method that any player can enter any offseason, leading standing rosters to become a mystery unless otherwise reported.

The portal has played an instrumental role in each of Missouri's seasons under head coach Dennis Gates, with top scorers like Mark Mitchell, Caleb Grill, Tamar Bates, Jayden Stone and more all being acquired through the exponentially-rising method of transactions. The Tigers have also felt the other end of the portal — see losses like Anthony Robinson II, Marcus Allen and Peyton Marshall.

Missouri's 2026-27 season may not rely on the portal as heavily as prior iterations — given incoming five-star freshman Jason Crowe will likely be the centerpiece of the team — but the portal will be instrumental regardless. Here's what Missouri should hone in on in the portal to win the offseason.

Acquire a starting center

Missouri has yet to have the same starting center in consecutive seasons under Gates. Small-ball and Mohammed Diarra played the role in 2022-23, while a rotating cast held it in 2023-24, Josh Gray manned the middle in 2024-25 and Shawn Phillips Jr. started in 2025-26. Phillips exhausted his final season of eligibility, meaning there will once again be a new starting center at Missouri next season.

Mar 12, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Missouri Tigers center Trent Burns (7) drives into Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

More likely than not, the future starter is not currently on the roster. Redshirt freshman Trent Burns showed flashes of elite play in the latter half of a grueling SEC schedule, but wasn't consistent enough to win the starting job outright before an offseason of movement — he averaged 2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks in 8.2 minutes per game on the season.

Fellow backup bigs Luke Northweather and Nicholas Randall have not been reported to return or transfer, but neither showcased enough to warrant contention for a starting job next season — Northweather didn't play in February or March, while Randall played 18 total minutes in the months.

Thrusting either of those three into a starting role would be both unprecedented and bold on Missouri's end, leaving the top option as the portal. There's plenty of quality bigs in the 2026 portal class, and Missouri should make it the absolute top priority to add one.

Retain T.O. Barrett

T.O. Barrett took the starting point guard job from Robinson seven games into Southeastern Conference play and didn't relinquish it for the rest of the season. He ended the season averaging 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.2 steals per game while holding 46 / 20.5 / 79.1 shooting splits. The sophomore ended the season on a bit of a slump, shooting under 40% in each of his last four games, including an 0-for-7 performance against Miami in the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers guard T.O. Barrett (5) drives to the basket against Miami (FL) Hurricanes during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

While Burns and Trent Pierce have announced returns to the program for next season, Barrett has not. Despite the lowly end to the season, Barrett doesn't have much reason to leave, as the starting point guard job is likely his to lose in 2026-27.

That doesn't mean he can't explore other options, though — failing to retain Barrett would make Pierce the lone returning starter next season. That would be quite the change of scenery for a Missouri team that's returned two or more players to play 20-plus minutes per game in each of the last three seasons.

Losing Barrett would also mean Missouri wouldn't have a point guard currently on the roster to play a single minute of college basketball in 2025-26 — Aaron Rowe redshirted and Crowe was in high school.

Add 3-point shooting

While it wasn't the biggest weakness, 3-point shooting was far from a strength for Missouri the past season, and it's set to get even worse. Four of the Tigers' five leaders in 3-pointers made — Jacob Crews, Mitchell, Stone and Robinson — have departed on the season, leaving Pierce as the only returning Tiger to make 20 or more triples the past season.

Feb 11, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Trent Pierce (11) shoots a three point basket over Texas A&M Aggies forward Zach Clemence (7) during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

3-point shooting was arguably the biggest X-factor to Missouri's offense last season. While Mitchell was the engine that kept it afloat, it was the 3-point shooting surrounding him that maximized the offense. When shooting struggled, so did the offense as a whole — life became a lot more difficult for Mitchell.

Missouri needs to make sure that situation doesn't repeat itself around Crowe next season, as the projected-leading scorer will need a strong support system around him for the offense to flourish.

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