Mizzou basketball lands Tray Jackson just hours after he decommitted from Minnesota

Missouri’s 2019 basketball recruiting class took a huge swing forward on Friday night.

Hours after backing off from his pledge to Minnesota, four-star forward Tray Jackson announced his commitment to Missouri. The 6-foot-8 forward also considered Seton Hall. Jackson, who plays for Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, hails from Michigan and is the first recruit whom assistant coach Cornell Mann has landed from his home state.

Jackson joins Mario McKinney as the other half of Missouri’s 2019 class. Before committing to Minnesota over the summer, Mann and head coach Cuonzo Martin watched Jackson all summer as he played for Chicago-based Meanstreets on the Nike EYBL circuit. Missouri’s staff pitched Jackson on his ability to play all five positions and considers him a NBA prospect.

Jackson was originally recruited to be able to coexist with E.J Liddell but soon Jackson will have the frontcourt all to himself with Jontay Porter likely to leave for the NBA after this season. Liddell has committed to Ohio State.

Missouri is hosting 2020 five-star recruit Josh Christopher on a visit this weekend. Christopher is the cousin of Tigers’ strength coach Nicodemus Christopher.

Alex Schiffer

Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 11:27 PM.