Sports
Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving Tigers? – Columbia Daily Tribune
The door has started to revolve.
Three Missouri basketball players from the Tigers’ calamitous 2023-24 season, which saw MU lose all 19 games it played against Southeastern Conference teams, have entered the transfer portal since its Monday, March 18, opening.
The Tribune confirmed with a team spokesperson that Jordan Butler, Jesus Carralero Martin and John Tonje have entered the portal, while center Mabor Majak has since transferred to Coastal Carolina and Curt Lewis moved on to East Tennessee State.
Missouri, thus far, has secured four commitments out of the transfer portal in UT Martin wing Jacob Crews, Iowa point guard Tony Perkins, Duke forward Mark Mitchell and Northern Kentucky guard Marques Warrick. The Tigers also are set to add five freshman in their Class of 2024 who make up the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class.
Missouri currently has an estimated 14 scholarship players, including Crews, Perkins, Mitchell and Warrick, able to play next season. The NCAA sets a team’s limit at 13 scholarship players, suggesting more players are likely to leave MU in the near future. It’s also possible that Missouri uses Name, Image and Likeness funds to supplant traditional scholarship spots.
However the math shapes out … the Tigers have work to do.
The Columbia Daily Tribune will keep track of Missouri’s reported comings and goings until the 45-day window closes on May 1. Here is who is coming, who is going, and a look at players who might be coming:
Kaleb Brown, the younger brother of Missouri great and NBA Draft first-round pick Kobe Brown, has entered the transfer portal. He was a three-year member of the team, appearing in 40 total games and averaging 0.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
It marks the second straight season that Kaleb Brown has tested the transfer portal waters. He put his name into the portal at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, but eventually decided to return to Columbia. He played in Missouri’s first two games of the 2023-24 season before being ruled out for the remainder of the slate with a stress fracture in his foot.
Kaleb Brown reportedly was not on scholarship last season, meaning his exit will not do anything to impact Missouri’s scholarship total.
Jordan Butler, who started 14 games in his true freshman campaign for Missouri basketball, has committed to his home-state university, South Carolina.
Butler, a 7-footer out of Greenville, South Carolina, played 31 games in his rookie campaign, including a run of 14 straight starts to close the regular season. He only remained on the court for more than 20 minutes in two of those games. He averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds across the season.
Mizzou has two 7-footers joining the team this summer as part of its Class of 2024 — Trent Burns and Peyton Marshall.
Gates also has said the team is looking to add a veteran post presence out of the portal.
Missouri basketball landed its fourth transfer portal commitment of an important off-season Friday, and it’s a big one. Duke transfer forward Mark Mitchell, a former five star and one of the top-ranked players available via the portal, committed to Dennis Gates’ Tigers, announcing his decision in an Instagram post.
Mitchell, who stands at 6 foot 9, 232 pounds, averaged 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils last season. He is rated at the No. 9-ranked player available in the transfer portal by 247Sports.
More:Missouri basketball continues hot portal run, lands former 5-star Mark Mitchell from Duke
Missouri basketball landed a commitment from Northern Kentucky transfer guard Marques Warrick on Wednesday afternoon, marking the Tigers’ third commitment out of the portal. Warrick announced the decision via a picture to his Instagram story.
Warrick, a Lexington, Kentucky, product, averaged 19.9 points per game for the Norse last season, starting each of his 33 appearances. He added 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game, and will have one season of eligibility remaining. He became Northern Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer in February, a tally that now stands at 2,246 points in four seasons.
More:Missouri basketball lands high-scoring Northern Kentucky guard Marques Warrick out of portal
Missouri guard John Tonje has entered the transfer portal, a team spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Monday.
Tonje spent one season with MU after transferring in from Colorado State. A foot injury hampered his playing time, as he logged just eighth appearances for a total of 78 minutes on the court during his time in Columbia. His season was shut down after an overtime loss to South Carolina on Jan. 13.
The guard was one of the more highly anticipated transfers of the past offseason, entering his final year of eligibility after scoring more than 1,000 career points for the Rams.
On Friday while meeting with the media, Gates said the team had filed paperwork for Tonje, as well as teammate Caleb Grill, to begin the process of applying for a medical redshirt. The coach expected no issues on that front, meaning Tonje is likely to be granted an extra season of eligibility. For now, that looks like it will be played elsewhere.
Iowa point guard Tony Perkins committed to Missouri on Monday morning, bringing the Tigers’ number of total portal acquisitions to two. He had previously narrowed down his list of landing spots to six schools.
Per a post on Perkins’ Instagram account, the point guard is also considering Arkansas, Oregon, Ole Miss, Indiana and Oklahoma.
With Nick Honor and Sean East II out of eligibility, Missouri had a need for an experienced point guard. Perkins, a second-team All Big Ten selection last season, has one year of eligibility remaining.
More:How self-fulfillment made Missouri football’s Eli Drinkwitz ‘obsessed’ to reach potential
Missouri Athletics:How 5 key Missouri football position battles stand after spring practice
Take this with a pinch of salt — Missouri will reach out to dozens of players before the window closes, and with a higher degree of interest in some more than others.
Here is a list of players Gates and his staff have reportedly contacted during this window, and their 2023-24 season stats (points; rebounds; assists per game):