Fire up Mr. Brightside!
Boy, it’s a rare situation for us to be celebrating a Kansas player, but in this case it’s at least a former KU player. But for every story, it’s not often how you begin but how you end, and now it’s official that Bryson Tiller will no longer be remembered as a Jayhawk, but rather as a young man who saw the light and decided to don the black and gold.
The courtship didn’t last long, as Tiller announced his intentions via a social media post:
Once the portal opened, Tiller — a former 4-star and top 50 player — quickly narrowed his list of schools to Arizona, Miami, Michigan, and Missouri. Tiller never made it to Michigan, and cancelled his expected visit to Arizona late Tuesday evening. The cancellation paved the way for either the Hurricanes or the Tigers to land the coveted big man, and in the end Dennis Gates and the Missouri Tigers won out.
Tiller started 31 of 35 games and averaged 25.9 minutes, 7.9 points, and 6.1 rebounds. With one season under his belt he will have three years of eligibility remaining. Tiller was originally a class of 2025 recruit, but he reclassified mid-season and enrolled at Kansas at semester in early 2025, redshirting the rest of the season. In the 2025 class he was considered a top 20 prospect, one of the most coveted bigs.
In high school, Tiller finished at Overtime Elite, a program in the Atlanta area which was helmed by current Missouri general manager Tim Fuller.
Let’s Meet Bryson Tiller
- From: Atlanta, Georgia
- Previous School: Kansas
- Position: Post
- Ht/Wt: 6-11/240
- 247Composite Ranking: 0.9400 (No. 34)
- On3 Sports Ranking: 94.46 (No. 46)
- EvanMiya Forecasted BPR: 4.25 (No. 86)
Tiller is more known for being a physical specimen at this stage in his development, and less known for any offensive polish, from 247sports.com’s Adam Finkelstein:
Tiller is long and powerful with a developing inside-out skill set. Recently measured at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, 9-foot-3 standing reach, and 11-inch hands, his physical measurements are off the charts. His frame is just as impressive, sculpted and powerful.
We will have a full scout on Tiller in the coming days, Matt Harris again had a bit of a tease before he left town. Tiller is still a work in progress offensively but is already a high level defender. His length and athleticism around the rim make him an imposing figure. And his 5.4% block rate was good for 158th in the country. Tiller isn’t a lost cause offensively, he has good hands and good feet. He looks the part of a big time player, it’s just the finishing isn’t quite there yet. So he’s working with a great set of tools, it’s now up to the Missouri staff to unlock his potential.
