Missouri men's basketball lands one of nation's top guards as Tigers' 1st 5-star recruit since 2017

Maddie Hartley, The Kansas City Star on Jul 18, 2025

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Missouri men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates’ first commitment for the 2026 roster is a big one.

Mizzou on Friday landed a commitment from five-star recruit Jason Crowe Jr. from Inglewood High School in California. A top-rated point guard for the 2026 class, per Rivals, made the announcement on CBS Sports HQ.

Crowe is regarded as one of the best pure shooting prospects in the country and has outstanding play-making skills. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 5 overall prospect in the nation, while Rivals has him at No. 7 overall.

ESPN ranks him as the No. 1 prospect at his position.

The 6-foot-3 Crowe becomes Mizzou’s second-highest rated recruit ever, behind only Michael Porter Jr., who was traded this offseason from the Denver Nuggets to the Brooklyn Nets. Porter was regarded as the No. 2 overall prospect in the country for the 2017 high school class behind Marvin Bagley III, who went to Duke and now plays for the Washington Wizards.

In his junior season at Inglewood High, Crowe averaged 35.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists, eclipsing 3,300 career points with another season left to play. He has also seen action on Nike’s EYBL circuit with the Oakland Soldiers, averaging 24.1 points per game.

Crowe led EYBL in scoring and chose Gates and the Tigers over offers from USC, UCLA and blueblood Kentucky. The Wildcats had appeared to be the favorite throughout his recruiting process until On3 reported earlier this month that Mizzou was in contention.