Dennis Gates lands second portal commitment in as many days

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou men's basketball finally got its win over the Miami Hurricanes.

On Tuesday, head coach Dennis Gates landed a commitment from former Providence forward Jamier Jones, who also reportedly had Hurricanes in the running for his transfer destination, as well. Jones' pledge to MU marks the second portal commitment for the Tigers in as many days.

The 6-foot-6, 218-pound talent will join Mizzou after playing under former Tiger legend Kim English in Providence, Rhode Island. In his true freshman season, Jones averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.7 minutes per game, as he was a Big East All-Freshman Team selection, as well.

He made an instant impact for the Friars, starting in 19 of the 31 games he got into in his debut campaign. Jones became a reliable shooter for English, as he shot at a 57 percent clip from the field, 38.7 percent mark from 3-point range and went 66.4 percent from the charity stripe. He's also aggressive at the rim, as he tallied the second-most dunks by a freshman in the nation in the 2025-26 season.

All-in-all, the Florida native recorded two 20-point outings last season, getting into double-digit scoring in 67 percent of the games he played in. Jones also logged seven games with two or more steals, as well as eight games with seven or more rebounds, adding on a pair of double-doubles.

Jones decided to jump into the transfer portal after a lackluster 15-18 finish to the season Providence. However, coming out of high school he was a big pickup for the Friars, as he rated as a four-star prospect out of the Sunshine State.

He joins former Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey in players to commit to Coach Gates out of the portal, this offseason. Those two will come to Columbia along with a historic freshman class, which features five-stars Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant, as well as four-star Aidan Chronister.

You can find a full look at the projected roster for the 2026-27 campaign (as of Tuesday afternoon) below:

• Guard Aaron Rowe (returner)
• Gaurd Annor Boateng (returner)
• Guard Jason Crowe Jr. (incoming freshman
• Center Trent Burns (returner)
• Forward Trent Pierce (returner)
• Forward Jaylen Carey (Tennessee transfer)
• Forward Jamier Jones (Providence transfer)
• Forward Luke Northweather (returner)
• Forward Toni Bryant (incoming freshman)
• Forward Aidan Chronister (incoming freshman)