For a few weeks, five-star wing Annor Boateng’s college decision seemed to be between Indiana and Missouri. Then, on late Thursday night, word of Boateng canceling his remaining official visits — including to IU — percolated throughout the college basketball-verse. 

Sure enough, the Little Rock, Arkansas  native announced early this morning that he was taking his talents to Columbia, joining Dennis Gates’ squad.

Boateng, the No. 26-ranked player in the class of 2024 according to 247 Sports, also took official visits to Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia Tech and Louisiana State University. He joins Marcus Allen, T.O. Barrett and Peyton Marshall in next year’s freshman class for the Tigers. 

Boateng was productive at the high school level, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds per game at Little Rock Central High School. With eight players from Missouri’s 2023-24 squad having just one year of eligibility remaining, Boateng might see game action early on in the 2024-25 season.  

This is a monumental recruiting victory for Missouri, as Boateng’s commitment has vaulted the Tigers to number one in 247 Sports’ Team Rankings for 2024. In a class that’s seen a handful of unexpected schools rise to the top of the rankings early on – Rutgers, Miami, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Texas A&M are all currently in the top 10 – Missouri sits above all of them. 

As if this week couldn’t get any better for Missouri basketball, five-star forward Jayden Quaintance is currently on an official visit in Columbia. It’s his fourth official visit thus far along with Cincinnati, Kentucky and Ohio State. Should the Raleigh, North Carolin superstar commit to Missouri, these past couple of days will go down as one of the greatest 48-hour stretches in Missouri basketball recruiting history. 

For now, however, Boateng has propelled the Tigers into a stratosphere that has rarely been explored by the black and gold.

Copy Edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com