On eve of NCAA Tournament, Missouri Tigers get some good news from forward Jacob Crews

Missouri Tigers forward Jacob Crews broke his silence regarding his status for the 2025-26 college basketball season on Wednesday.

The graduate announced before the MU’s pre-NCAA Tournament practice that he plans to return to the Tigers next season, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Eli Hoff and Columbia Daily Tribune’s Calum McAndrew.

The Hilliard, Florida, product was asked whether he would return during locker room media availability and answered, “Absolutely.”

The NCAA Division I board of directors recently signed off on a blanket waiver granting an extra year of eligibility to certain junior-college transfers as a result of a court ruling involving Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

The waiver grants players like Crews another year, if they want to use it.

According to an NCAA memo, student-athletes who “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years,” will have an additional year of eligibility granted to them for the 2025-26 campaign. The waiver applies only to athletes who would have been in their final year of eligibility in the 2024-25 school year.

Crews transferred to Missouri in the offseason from UT Martin. He played at junior-college Daytona State during the 2022-23 season, earning second-team NJCAA All-America and Central Conference player of the year honors after averaging 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Falcons.

Crews transferred to Daytona State after two seasons at North Florida (2020-22).

Mizzou coach Dennis Gates had previously addressed the possibility of Crews returning for a sixth season.

“Jacob Crews is a young man that will have an extra year of eligibility,” Gates said late last month. “We’ll get with his representation, have a group family meeting, and we’ll talk about that in the postseason to see what’s best.”

Gates also discussed the many factors that may have gone into Crews’ decision to return for a second season at Mizzou, such as fatherhood and considering what would be best for his future.

Crews has swiftly adjusted from mid-major to high-major play. He is averaging 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 33.6% from 3-point range.

Crews and No. 6 seed Mizzou (22-11) will play 11th-seeded Drake (30-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 6:35 p.m. Thursday at InTrust Bank Arena here in Wichita.

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