Dennis Gates capped off his highly ranked recruiting class with the official signing yesterday.
The release from the MUTigers.com release:
The nation’s premier scorer in the Class of 2026 is rounding out the nation’s premier signing class as Jason Crowe Jr. (Inglewood, Calif.) officially signed with
the Mizzou men’s basketball team on Thursday, giving the Tigers the No. 1 class in the country by ESPN.
A consensus five-star recruit, Crowe ranks as high as the nation’s No. 3 prospect by 247 Sports, while also pacing fifth by ESPN. He is the Tigers’ highest-ranked recruit since NBA Lottery Pick and Champion Michael Porter Jr. was second in the Class of 2017.
“We couldn’t be more excited to officially welcome Jason Crowe Jr. to Mizzou as we have developed a great relationship with him and his entire family during the recruitment process,” said Whitten Family Head Coach Dennis Gates. “He’s a special player and already prepares every day like a pro. His work ethic is unmatched, his discipline is unmatched and his performance on the court is unmatched. J2 has tremendous support at home as his entire family embodies our core values. You don’t become the nation’s top scorer and be on pace to shatter the California scoring record by talent alone, though, and it’s his approach to the game and preparation that separates him from others.
“On the court, J2 is as smooth as a player as there is. He is extremely crafty with a high basketball IQ that allows him to score in any situation. There aren’t many players at any level that are as skilled of a scorer as he is and we can’t wait to welcome him to our Mizzou family next season.”
“We are so excited for “J2” to officially become a part of the MIZ family,” said Jason’s father and Inglewood High School Head Coach Jason Crowe Sr. “Coach Gates has assembled an amazing staff of outstanding teachers of the game, who operate with great synergy. My wife and I could feel the genuine care they have for the players and the school as a whole. The fans will see a young man who prepares diligently and loves to compete every night he wears that Black & Gold. We are certainly blessed to be invited into the Missouri family.”
Crowe is the third premier prospect to sign with the Tigers during November’s early signing period, joining Toni Bryant and Aidan Chronister in the Class of 2026. The trio – who rank as the nation’s No. 1 class by ESPN – join a Mizzou program that has won 20-plus games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2-of-3 seasons under Gates’ leadership.
Crowe’s signing means a lot of things, but he’s for sure an electric scorer. For more on what Crowe’s game shows, read Matt Harris’s commitment piece from back over the summer.
With Crowe, as well as Toni Bryant and Aidan Chronister, Mizzou’s freshman class is locked in. They’ll be portal shopping in the spring to fill out the rest of the roster. But starting with a scoring guard like Crowe is a big step forward.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
Senior day is here already. This fall has flown by. What better way to kick off Senior Day coverage than with a fantastic article on a freshman! Matthew Gustafson took a look at what Donovan Olugbude means to the offense as he takes on a larger and larger role:
Donovan Olugbode stood in stark contrast to the rest of the Mizzou offense, putting together his best performance of the season when little else went right for the Tigers.
The true freshman recorded three receptions for 74 yards, marking a new high in his promising young career. Two of Olugbode’s three receptions went for more than 25 yards, and both of those explosive plays were heavily contested catches — including one reception that drew a defensive pass interference penalty.
He’s been so good at winning one on one battles when the ball is in the air. Maybe better than any young Wide Receiver I can remember. Even Luther took some time to get really good at that, and Olugbude seems preternaturally gifted at it already.
- SBN Reacts: What Bowl Game Do You Want? Still time to vote!
- BOWL PROJECTIONS: yeah they’re still all over the map, a trip to Music City against Illinois could be fun! Reunite with ol’ Bielema.
- Our only Olympic post yesterday was a nice update from Colin Simmons on Soccer’s fall signing class:
Mizzou soccer gets even younger as it adds a five-woman high school recruiting class to the program. The class consists of midfielders Lana Adams, Petra Bandula and Rylie Morse, and forwards Audrey Gilbert and Aisling Meehan. Compared to head coach Stefanie Golan’s 2025 freshmen crop, this group is far more diverse geographically.
This new group of Tigers is clearly built to fix the glaring offensive issues from the 2025 roster and could see multiple players have immediate impacts. Let’s get into what makes each footballer unique.
We like Rock Ms around here, happy to see it back!
BASKETBALL THINGS!
I’ll be honest. I’m not sure what to make of this team yet.
I was pretty sure they’d be good heading into the season, but wasn’t sure how good. I thought they had the talent and depth to contend for a top four finish in the league. But so far this season they’ve been down three players we figured would have, at least, rotational roles. There have been flashes of brilliance, coupled with long ugly lags of uninspired play. They’ve dominated the glass, and also been bullied, all with the same lineups. I wasn’t sure they’d be a good shooting team, but through 4 games they’ve hit on 44% of their 3s which is as good as any 4 game stretch last year.
Plus maybe even more interesting, at least for the types who really enjoy the recruiting stuff… Mizzou’s top ranked class could pick right back up in 2027 as well. Matt Harris details the names to keep an eye on. Obviously they’ve already added Scottie Adkinson, but who is going to join him in the class?
During the June recruiting dead period, we conducted a wellness check on some of the names you saw listed in the table above. Yet the board remains fluid. For example, Adkinson and Branham opened a substantial gap on McKinney in efficiency metrics and — unsurprisingly — in the composite index. Currently, the MU legacy and Vashon junior sits at No. 125 nationally after slipping more than 60 spots. Simultaneously, the Tigers offered and ramped up their pursuit of other point and combo guards.
Matt has watched film and broken down each target already. Giving this man Synergy (paid for thanks to RM+ subscribers) has been a fruitful endeavor.
Forums Talk
Be on the lookout for lineup data coming from Matt Harris today, True Deck also has a coming interview with Braylon Ellison, one of Mizzou FBs top signees. Plus we’ve already got 2028 player profiles for the MBB recruiting up. Subscribe if you haven’t already to read more.
Rock M Radio: BTBS previews MSU
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