The reshaping of the Missouri basketball roster is already in full force, with sophomore Parker Braun and senior Mark Smith both entering the transfer portal on Saturday, becoming the second and third Tigers (joining Xavier Pinson) to make that decision within the past week.
Smith, via Instagram on Tuesday morning, announced he will be headed to Manhattan, Kansas to play as a grad transfer for the Kansas State Wildcats, taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He becomes KSU’s first incoming transfer of the offseason.
Braun, a redshirt sophomore, played in 9 minutes per game this season for MU, averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, while Smith, a starter in 24 of Mizzou’s 26 games, averaged 9.7 points per game. K-State will be his third program at the Division 1 level, as he began his career at Illinois before spending three years with Cuonzo Martin in Columbia.
With transfers and graduation hitting Mizzou’s roster very hard, Martin is expected to hit the transfer portal very hard for the Tigers, attempting to add experienced pieces in an upcoming five-member freshman class that includes DeSmet (MO) High School center Yaya Keita.
Missouri added Green Bay sophomore guard Amari Davis via transfer late last week, bringing scoring ability from his two years in the Horizon League into the SEC. It is anticipated that one of Mizzou’s next big targets will be UMKC graduate transfer Brandon McKissic, a product of St. Louis University High School (SLUH) in St. Louis. Missouri is battling a number of schools for McKissic, notably long-time rival Kansas.
