Missouri Tigers center hurt, will miss start of 2025-26 men’s basketball season
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- Mizzou center Trent Burns will miss early 2025 games after foot surgery.
- Burns, 7-foot-5, re-aggravated a stress injury that sidelined him in 2024.
- Coach Gates expects Burns to return by end of non-conference schedule.
The Missouri Tigers men’s basketball team will be without 7-foot-5 redshirt freshman Trent Burns to start the 2025 season following the surgery on a lingering stress reaction in his foot.
Burns, a center who missed the entirety of his true freshman season with a similar injury, opted to avoid surgery last year.
According to a statement released on X, Mizzou coach Dennis Gates is optimistic that Burns will return within the Tigers’ non-conference slate of games.
“After a successful spring and early summer practice window, Trent had an injury to his foot flare up,” Gates said. “We all decided that surgery was the best option for his uninterrupted contributions this season ... . We saw in the spring and summer how much of an impact he can have with our program and we look forward to his return to the court during our non-conference season.”
The 7-foot-5 Burns, out of Good Vision Academy in Houston, was ranked No. 115 nationally and No. 21 at his position for the class of 2024, according to 247Sports. He chose the Tigers over Southeastern Conference rival Texas A&M, Purdue and Xavier, among other programs.
According to the current estimated return date, Burns could be taking the court for the first time by the end of non-conference play in mid to late November. The Tigers will open the season against Howard on the road (Nov. 7), followed by seven consecutive games at Mizzou Arena.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM.