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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Former Missouri men's basketball stars Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill were not selected in the 2025 NBA Draft. Shortly after, however, Bates signed a two-way undrafted free agent deal with the Denver Nuggets and Grill signed with the Chicago Bulls.

One-time MU player John Tonje, meanwhile, went to the Utah Jazz with the 53rd overall pick. 

Going off the board in the second round, Tonje is the first Mizzou product to be drafted since Kobe Brown in 2023 and the program's 49th-ever draft pick, according to its tracking — if eight appearances for the Tigers qualify him for that designation.

Bates, 22, spent two seasons with Indiana before transferring to Missouri in 2023. After starting the 2023-24 season coming off the bench, he played his way into a role as a key player on a struggling MU team. 

Despite a difficult first season in Columbia, Bates stuck around to lead the Tigers' bounceback in the 2024-25 campaign. He became a vocal figure in the Mizzou locker room, setting the tone ahead of some of the season's biggest wins.

“I understand what’s necessary and what my teammates are looking at me for," Bates told the Post-Dispatch after a Southeastern Conference tournament win over Mississippi State.

He averaged 13.3 points per game on 50.8% shooting from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc and a Division I-best 94.6% at the free-throw line. Bates' efficiency — plus a 6-foot-10 wingspan despite a 6-foot-3 frame — made him appealing to NBA teams.

Grill, who just turned 25, also spent two seasons at Missouri. He split his first four years at UNLV, then joined the Tigers for what was supposed to be only one season in 2023-24. Before he could even find his jumper, though, an early-season fall led to a wrist injury that kept him out for the rest of the campaign. 

Still, using a medical waiver, he came back for MU's 2024-25 NCAA Tournament season — a decision Grill, at the time, called a "no-doubter."

"I came here to help this program, help Coach Gates and the players here and elevate the program," he said last summer. "Only being here for nine games, I felt like my impact wouldn’t have been that. It was more than just my personal decision — it was trying to help impact others.�

Grill was the hottest 3-point shooter in the nation for a significant stretch of this past season and finished with a 39.6% clip from deep. He came almost exclusively off the bench, recovering from a neck injury scare during nonconference play to win the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award. 

Tonje, 24, was announced at the draft as a Wisconsin product but spent one season at Missouri — albeit in a limited capacity. After a strong four-year run at Colorado State, he joined the Tigers ahead of the 2023-24 season, only to suffer a leg injury in the preseason. 

He wound up playing in only eight games for Mizzou, playing 77 minutes and scoring 21 total points. After that rough season, Tonje transferred to the Badgers, where he emerged as the star that Gates thought he could be at MU: an All-American talent who averaged 19.6 points per game.