By MATT PIKE
On Friday, top five recruit Jason Crowe Jr. announced his commitment to come to Columbia and play basketball at Missouri, giving the Tigers and head coach Dennis Gates their highest rated recruit in almost a decade.
Crowe never released list, but Kentucky, USC, Texas, and others were in pursuit of one of the top guards in the 2026 class. In fact, for the past few months per reports, Kentucky and USC were believed to be the favorites for Crowe. Crowe's father played with Kentucky assistant Jason Hart and the two remain friends, and USC made him a priority early in the cycle.
Gates and the Tigers though made a push, a strong push, over the last six weeks, after offering a scholarship to Crowe in June.
"Coach Gates is a phenomenal coach and person, and his staff are great people," Crowe said to ESPN. "Our first conversation happened during the USA tryouts. He was really genuine. We talked about family and connected on a meaningful level. Coach Gates is a family-first person. On the court, he's high-energy and competitive."
A 6'3" prospect out of Inglewood High School in California, Crowe is considered the number one point guard in the 2026 class and is ranked number four overall in the ESPN Top 100, ranked number five nationally by 247Sports. He becomes Missouri's highest-ranked commitment since Michael Porter Jr. picked the Tigers in the class of 2017 and just the second since Linas Kleiza in the class of 2003.
Crowe leads the Nike EYBL in scoring, averaging 23.6 points in regular-season play, scoring more than 30 points on four separate occasions, making him perhaps the best scorer in the class. A left-handed scoring point guard, he thrives in transition. He has a balanced and controlled jumper, whether he's shooting off the dribble or in catch-and-shoot situations.
Crowe possesses an uncanny ability to blow past defenders and complements it with a quality midrange game and capable shooting from deep. He also converts well from the free throw line and gets there frequently. His passing vision is noticeable off his penetration and his ball-screen reads are strong, even though he can get loose and casual with the ball at times.
Crowe is the first commitment in Missouri's 2026 class, although the Tigers are also in pursuit of fellow five-star prospect Toni Bryant.
-ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi contributed to this report
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