Two five-star freshmen and McDonald’s All-Americans. Multiple high-major, high-billing transfers. Another couple of fifth-year players, pending the courts.
Missouri men’s basketball has plenty of shiny new stars. Plenty of talented newcomers worthy of headlines and excitement.
But what if we told you the Tigers have someone even more rare on their roster? The type of player less than one-third of high-major programs had rostered last season?
What if we told you that this player was a returning starter and could very well be one of Mizzou’s most important players this season?
And then what if we told you almost nobody is talking about him?
Trent Pierce is one of the last of his kind.
He’s a fourth-year senior, all four of those spent at the same school. He signed as part of head coach Dennis Gates’ first high school signing class in 2023 along with Anthony Robinson II, now at Florida State, and Jordan Butler, now at Furman by way of South Carolina.
Last year, according to Isaac Trotter at CBS Sports, only 22 high-major players walked on senior night as a fourth-year player with all four of those seasons spent at the same school. Only one of those players was from the SEC.
Mizzou’s last four-year, same-school player was Kobe Brown. Now, Pierce joins the increasingly rare list.
“He's the unicorn,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said Oct. 11.
Added Gates: “When you have a person like that, be thankful, and I'm very thankful that we have Trent Pierce.”
More: ‘Coffin or classroom’: How much tougher is Missouri basketball 2026-27 schedule?
More: Missouri basketball will not begin season ranked in top-25 polls
There’s every reason to believe that Pierce is in for his best season yet, and here’s why:
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound wing/forward shot 38.4% from 3-point range last season, which was a career-high, and averaged 10.4 points per game, which was quite comfortably a career-high. Pierce has played 74 times for Missouri, which means he has worn the jersey in more games than anyone else on the 2026-27 roster.
After missing nearly all of Mizzou’s nonconference play with an injury, he provided a jolt to the lineup after returning in January with nearly 30 minutes on the floor per game, less than only Mark Mitchell and Jayden Stone.
He was arguably Mizzou’s best 3-point shooter. In conference play, he averaged 7.0 attempts per 40 minutes, which ranked among the 90th percentile nationally, per CBB Analytics. He made those shots at a top-20% rate. So, he took a lot of deep shots and put a lot of them through the hoop.
Pierce’s shortcomings, especially for his size, have been rebounding and drawing fouls.
Per CBB Analytics, he ranked among the 20th percentile or lower for offensive rebounds per 40 minutes, defensive rebounds per 40 minutes, personal fouls drawn per 40 minutes and free-throw attempts per 40 minutes last season.
But Missouri doesn’t exactly need him to do much of that anymore. Pierce can live on the perimeter.
Look at the players Missouri has for frontcourt options.
Bryson Tiller at 6-11 and 245; Jaylen Carey at 6-8 and 255; Mark Mitchell, court pending, at 6-9 and 230 pounds and Toni Bryant at 6-10 and 215.
Carey averaged 7.0 defensive rebounds and 6.0 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes last year, both among the top-15 rates in the SEC. Tiller averaged 7.0 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes, which was a top-15 mark in the Big 12. Only two players in the SEC drew more personal fouls than Mitchell.
The point: Missouri has options better at playing inside than Pierce.
The Tigers need him to do one thing exceptionally well on offense, and that’s shoot the basketball and space the floor. That is something the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native can do.
Gates named Pierce one of his two team captains this season.
He is, after all, a “unicorn” fourth-year, same-school player.
“His growth has happened. His development has happened,” Gates said Oct. 19. “I don't think he's pressed the evacuation button on his trials, on his tribulations, on his downs, but he's allowed himself to get out on the other side, and you see growth. I just remember a skinny, skinny little freshman trying to make a way, and ultimately someone that fought through it all, and I think that's the person that usually gets rewarded.
“So his better days are ahead of him, that's for sure, and I'm thankful for his leadership.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Nobody is talking about Missouri basketball’s most experienced player