Mizzou basketball had a typical season, for its standards: finishing a few games over .500 in conference, pairing some big wins with bad losses before ultimately losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Miami Hurricanes. A solid regular season followed by an early tournament loss has become standard for the Tigers over the past decade.
What’s not so typical, however, is Mizzou being one of only four programs in the country with multiple incoming five-star freshmen. One is Jason Crowe Jr., fresh off a co-MVP performance at the McDonald’s All-American Game; the other is 6-foot-10 forward Toni Bryant, ranked No. 14 in the class of 2026, according to ESPN.
While Bryant is one of the more highly regarded Mizzou prospects in recent years, he’s still a raw and unfinished talent. His offensive profile leaves a lot to be desired. For a player of his size, Bryant doesn’t consistently impose himself physically, often settling for turnaround fades or jumpers in the nail or short-corner area.
He also doesn’t get to the free-throw line as frequently as expected for somebody of his stature. During his senior season at Southeastern Prep Academy, he had a free-throw rate of just 32%. For a player who is often the best and biggest player on the floor, that number should be higher. There’s little reason for him not to be posting up more, especially given his solid touch around the rim.
Another concern is his current frame. At roughly 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds, Bryant may struggle with the physicality required to play extended minutes at the four in the NCAA. His build is somewhat reminiscent of Tennessee’s former five-star forward Nate Ament, who faced similar challenges with making an impact on the interior due to his own lack of strength. The saving grace for Ament was his elite ability to get to the line, and a reliable pull-up jumpshot — areas Bryant has yet to develop.
As a shooter, Bryant shows flashes but remains inconsistent. He shot 21% his senior year on only 28 attempts. In his sophomore and junior seasons at North Tampa Christian Academy, he shot 43% and 48% with significantly lesser talent alongside him. His long-term shooting outlook will likely fall somewhere in the middle at Mizzou, which is panning out to be a pretty poor spacing context, so he could be asked to create a little more above the break than he’s used to.
Inside the arc is where Bryant can be lethal as a scorer. He has a pretty good touch, converting 68% of his two-point attempts over the last three seasons. When he does post up, he can finish over or around smaller players and attack the rim. He’s good coming off the roll, off of cuts or slip screens, and is a great vertical athlete, making him deadly as a lob threat. He and Crowe could be a great pick-and-roll pairing in their shared minutes.
Defensively, Bryant is most impactful; as mentioned prior, he’s a great vertical athlete with strong defensive timing and cognition. He averaged 6.5 blocks per game his junior year and 8.7 as a sophomore before averaging 1.6 blocks his senior year on a star-studded roster.
Beyond shot blocking, he’s versatile defensively. He’s quick enough on his feet to guard the perimeter, fight through screens and contribute off-ball. He has great hands, great feel on that side of the ball and great defensive instincts in general.
Overall, Bryant is a strong addition for the Tigers. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered offensively, but many of those solutions can be addressed through development. With additional frontcourt competition from incoming transfers Bryson Tiller and Jamier Jones, it’s up to him whether he plays big minutes on a night-to-night basis.
