Missouri men’s basketball landed its first commit of the 2026 transfer portal cycle, securing 6-foot-8 big man Jaylen Carey. The 20-year-old forward is fresh off the heels of a Sweet 16 run as part of the Tennessee Volunteers, but chose to enter the open market in search of a new home.
In his lone season at Tennessee, Carey played primarily as a reserve, starting in just eight of the 37 games he appeared in and logging 18.5 minutes per game. In those minutes, however, he was fairly productive, posting averages of 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Despite being somewhat undersized for his position, Carey does a good job asserting himself physically, relentlessly attacking the paint and finishing around the rim at 55.4% clip. While relentless, he’s far from reckless, as Carey has flashed slick footwork and an intriguing passing feel that the Tigers could implement.
With that said, Carey saw the floor as scarcely as he did for good reason. For starters, his perimeter game is severely lacking. Carey attempted just five 3-point shots last season — all of which he missed — while also making just 21.6% of his non-rim two-point attempts.
Carey’s offensive woes carry over to the free-throw line. Despite reaching the charity stripe three times per game, Carey struggled to make defenses pay, making just 49.1% of his attempts. Shooting, particularly free throws, is something Missouri struggled with last season, and Carey certainly won’t be a solution to those problems.
Despite being as big and physically imposing as he is, Carey is unable to turn that into consistent defensive production. Last season, he posted a steal rate of just 1.0% and a block rate of 0.4%, two incredibly low numbers for a big man in the Southeastern Conference.
Despite flaws, Carey will still add much-needed big man depth for the Tigers. After a year of inconsistency and underperforming talent from Missouri’s frontcourt, it will be nice to know that, at worst, they have proper depth heading into the 2026-27 season. Carey joins a big-man rotation already rostering Toni Bryant, Trent Burns, Luke Northweather and Nicholas Randall.
Carey’s role may be small for Missouri next season, but there is no doubt that he will be an impact player from day one, even if in limited minutes.
