Mizzou Inks Trent Pierce to NLI

A consensus top-100 recruit, Trent Pierce is set to join the Missouri men’s basketball program after signing his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.

A four-star commit from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a member of the Tiger’s top-20 ranked recruiting class, Pierce is 80th nationally in the ESPN 100 and ranks as the country’s 19th top small forward in the Class of 2023.

“Trent is one of the more versatile players we recruited and a welcome addition to the Mizzou family,” said Whitten Men’s Basketball Family Head Coach Dennis Gates. “He has incredible length and as a wing, he can guard every position on the court. Our coaching staff has worked well with players of his skill set and he will fit in nicely within our system. Trent is a great rim protector and rebounder and can really cover ground on the defensive end. He can also stretch the floor with his ability to connect from 3-point range and has a high basketball IQ. We’re excited for Trent to join our program and can’t wait to get to work with him.”

The 6-foot-10 wing tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds per game at Union High School during the 2021-22 campaign. Pierce also starred for his AAU program, Team Griffin, before transferring to AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona, for his senior season.

“Trent Pierce is every coach’s dream,” said AZ Compass Prep head coach Ed Gipson. “He is a tremendous high-character young man who is an intricate piece our AZ Compass program. Trent has elite shooting ability and posses an extremely high IQ for the game of basketball. His length at 6-foot-10 adds even more to his versatility, being able to guard multiple positions, while also initiating the offense. I truly look forward to watching Trent grace the floor at the University of Missouri.”

Pierce is the second student-athlete to sign with the Tigers on the initial day of the early signing period. He joins point guard Anthony Robinson II as the first two recruits in the nation’s 17th-ranked class. Missouri also inked the No. 2 transfer portal class during the spring of 2022 in Gates’ first signing period.