Mizzou Men’s Basketball Caps No. 2 Recruiting Class with Annor Boateng

The highest-ranked recruit for Missouri men’s basketball in seven years and the second-highest in the last 21 seasons, Annor Boateng finished off the first day of the early signing period by inking with the Tigers on Wednesday. Overall, Mizzou signed its highest-ranked class in school history with the No. 2 group nationally.

Ranked as high as No. 21 nationally, Boateng is the highest-ranked student-athlete to sign with the Tigers since Michael Porter Jr. joined Mizzou as the nation’s No. 2 recruit in 2017. Overall, Boateng is No. 26 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings – making him Mizzou’s third top-30 recruit since 2004.

“Annor Boateng is an outstanding player and person on and off the court,” said Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. “We look for champions in the classroom, on the court and in the community and Annor is a perfect example of that kind of all-around student-athlete. One of the most complete guards in the country and a playmaker on both ends of the floor, Annor is physically gifted and a three-level scorer who excels in multiple facets of the game. He is also a tremendous leader and we’re thrilled to welcome him to our Mizzou family.”

Named the Gatorade Arkansas Basketball Player of the Year, Boateng led Little Rock Central to the Class 6A State Quarterfinals, averaging 15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. A first-team all-state selection in 2023, Boateng has already surpassed 1,000 points for his career entering his senior campaign.

The 6-foot-5 guard also excelled with the Arkansas Hawks during his high school career – averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds, while shooting 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. He was invited to the NBPA Top 100 Camp and most recently, Boateng participated in the USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp in Colorado in October.

A complete student-athlete, Boateng also maintains a 3.64 grade point average and was recently named an NHSCA Academic All-American.

“Annor is one of the top two-way players in the entire country,” said Little Rock Central head coach Brian Ross. “He was the Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and has been a four-year starter for a perennial state title contender.

“Annor has not only been a great player for the Central Tigers, he has been an exemplary student and teammate as well. He has a 3.7 GPA while taking several AP courses each semester. He has played the saxophone in the marching band. We are excited for him to be joining the Missouri program as Coach Gates and his staff have done an amazing job in recruiting him and they have things going in the right direction up there.”

Boateng completes the nation’s second-ranked recruiting class after the first day of the early signing period, marking the highest-ranked class in school history. The previous high for Mizzou was the nation’s No. 4 class in 2017 as Boateng joins Marcus Allen, T.O. Barrett, Trent Burns and Peyton Marshall as the newest Tigers. The five top-100 players join a program that won 25 games and its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years during Gates’ first season leading the Tigers in 2022-23.