Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we are talking about Mizzou Gym!
Mizzou Gymnastics took the gymnastics world by storm and secured two recruits in 24 hours (one 5 and one 4-star), including their first commit of the 2026 class.
After
finishing third in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship, the Tigers told the world that they aren’t backing down, securing top recruits in both the 2026 and 2027 classes.
First, Mizzou added five-star Kendall Morgan, who was the highest rated uncommitted 2026 five-star.
From Karen’s story yesterday:
Kendall —or Kenny as her USA Gym bio reads, making her the second Kenny on the team!— is the fifth five-star to join the Missouri Tigers gymnastics program from as far back as we could figure out (they haven’t been ranking gymnasts for that long, apparently) and will be the fourth five-star on the roster when she joins the team in 2026— alongside Olivia Kelly, Railey Jackson and Kimarra Echols. Insane.
HC Shannon Welker is doing an incredible job, securing the fifth five-star in program HISTORY, and Morgan will join a team with three othr five-stars next year (Olivia Kelly, Railey Jackson and Kimarra Echols).
Later on Monday, the Tigers made their second splash.
Welker and company seem to be in good hands for the future, and will look to continue growing their 2027 class (their 2026 class is likely full), now with a bit of momentum. Really exciting to see from a program that seems to have just broken onto the national scene in the last four years.
We have more discussion on football and basketball, diving into prospects, visits and PFF grades in the Rock M+ forums. Most recently, there’s discussion on the 2026 Players Era debocal.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
It sets up be a much-anticipated game in COMO to close out Missouri’s season opening six-game home stand. A massive opportunity for Eli Drinkwitz’s squad in hopes of contending for the College Football Playoff.
This has been a game that Missouri fans have had marked on their calenders all season, it’ll have to wait a week, but I’m really excited to see how it all plays out. The Tigers would most likely be Top 10 if they beat the Tide.
Ruthie Wehrung joins the Tigers in two years and is just coming off her Homecoming weekend visit to The Zou with four other potential Tigers (fingers crossed, more below on them). Before deciding to seal the deal with Mizzou, the four-star recruit also recently took visits to Michigan State, BYU and Auburn.
Sounds like another recruiting battle win for the Tigers. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s great to see the Tigers, a program that hasn’t always been on the national stage, pulling top recruits like this.
Transfer portal impact level = high. Drayton Jones, a 6’10 post is at Butler after averaging 13 points and 5.5 rebounds last year. Mitchel Taylor, a point guard who averaged 8.5 points a game is now at UNC-Asheville. Wilson Dubinsky, another 8 pp scorer and combo guard, will suit up for Marshall this year. They also lost Michael teal, Caleb McCarty, and Roko Maric to the portal, although the first two were merely rotational players and Maric only saw action in 6 games.
Graduation took Omar Croskey and Davion Everett, two double digit scorers.
The team lost a lot of key pieces to the portal and graduation, a common theme with successful small programs, and the Bulldogs did a lot of rebuilding over the offseason. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of play they bring to Mizzou Arena when the teams clash.
All kidding aside, it’s games like this one, where the starters are clearly disengaged or, at the very least, not as focused as they ought be, when you start to see young guys take advantage of their opportunities. Maybe struggling rotational players find their footing or backups start to show their mettle. I only half-joke about the Santana Banner interception. Can you imagine if he started realizing his potential?
The game didn’t mean much for most of the veterans and starters on the team, but it was great to see players like Cameron Keys and Tavorus Jones playing their hearts out because who knows how much opportunity they’ll have with only SEC teams left on the schedule.
No more cupcakes for the rest of the season. It’s all conference opponents that are either highly ranked or on the road from here on out. Enjoy the Bye week, gear up for Bama!
Time to buckle up, Tigers fans!
Back is senior forward Brendan Terry, the only double digit scorer returning at 11.2 ppg, he’s a bull of a 6’7 combo forward. B.J. Ward, a 6’0 combo guard, was on the floor a lot and chipped in 8.4 ppg to go with 37.6% shooting from outside
These will be the names to look out for in the matchup, but this shouldn’t be too close. The Tigers are 9-0 against the Redhawks all time.
Johnson had a super dominant junior season based on his highlights. It would’ve been clear to any scout, he’s not suited for junior college. He had the ability to overpower the offensive line when needed, but he was also quick enough to get around them. His game sense seems really strong, he’s always looking to get the ball back to his offense whether it’s loose on the ground or a tipable pass.
The dude is big and strong. He should be an instant impact for the Tigers. Go read my recruiting reset!
Over at Rock M+ we have more Mizzou football discussion in forums ahead of kickoff against South Carolina.
Dive Cuts: No. 19 Mizzou handles UMASS & college football coaching changes
On this episode, Nathan and Nate discuss Missouri’s recent WIN versus UMass, highlighting the performance and overall boredom of the game. The guys chat about the offensive line, running game, and the defense’. Then the conversation shifts to coaching changes, particularly Eli Drinkwitz’s potential interest from Florida, and wraps up with updates on recruiting and the bye week.
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