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ATLANTA — Missouri football came in 12th in the Southeastern Conference's preseason media poll and landed just two players on All-SEC teams, reflecting the degree to which expectations are low in 2025.

That left guard Cayden Green (first team All-SEC) and wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. (third team) were Mizzou's only preseason representatives is a stark contrast to coach Eli Drinkwitz's previous messaging that he has assembled his most talented roster yet. 

While MU wasn't expected to land a large swath of players on preseason All-SEC teams, running back Ahmad Hardy and safety Jalen Catalon — the latter having won actual All-SEC honors in 2020 — missing out is rather surprising. Players like center Connor Tollison, defensive end Damon Wilson II and hybrid safety Daylan Carnell seemingly had cases for All-SEC spots.

The SEC's preseason poll is open to all media credentialed to cover the league's media days, which took place this week in Atlanta. The voting body thus includes the smattering of remaining newspaper beat writers and columnists, plus radio/podcast hosts, bloggers and student media — part of why it's not considered an especially worthwhile endeavor in 2025. Some conferences have done away with preseason polls, but the SEC continued its effort this year. 

Texas was picked as the media's predicted conference champion, narrowly ahead of Georgia. Then came, in order, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana State, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Auburn, Mizzou, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State. 

In 2024, MU was picked to finish sixth.

Hoff explains his ballot

There are a lot of things at SEC media days that look rather silly in today's day and age, none more so than voting on preseason "awards" and this projected order of finish. 

For example: The ballot asks to rank the three best kickoff specialists in the SEC. I'm not ashamed to admit I neither know or feel a need to know who is the best in the conference at kickoffs. According to the results of the poll, it's Georgia's Peyton Woodring, who was also voted best placekicker.

I included several Mizzou players on my preseason All-SEC picks: Hardy, Coleman, Green, Tollison, Wilson, Josiah Trotter and Catalon.

Since the bar to qualify for a media days credential is, well, low and many media attendees have more of a rooting interest in the team they cover than they should, I suspect Mizzou players tend to be at a disadvantage when it comes to preseason awards voting. The MU-focused media contingent is much smaller than some of the other SEC schools and tends to drift a bit more objective, I'd argue. With that in mind, I voted for Missouri players who I thought deserved to be in the conversation, since that's the only way they have a chance against the rest of the league. Perhaps that's misguided, but it's a silly poll anyway.

Adding to the silliness: There's no rule on the predicted order of finish ballot that it has to be mathematically possible, so it's really more of a power ranking than a projection of how this season could go. I'm not saying my predictions are smarter or will age better than anyone else's, but I at least challenged myself to make them mathematically possible by picking every SEC game and then calculating the standings based on those results and the league's tiebreaker procedures.

My prediction: 1. Texas (7-1 in SEC play), 2. LSU (7-1), 3. Georgia (6-2), 4. South Carolina (5-3), 5. Oklahoma (5-3), 6. Ole Miss (6-3), 7. Missouri (5-3), 8. Alabama (5-3), 9. Texas A&M (5-3), 10. Vanderbilt (4-4), 11. Florida (4-4), 12. Tennessee (2-6), 13. Arkansas (2-6), 14. Auburn (1-7), 15. Kentucky (1-7), 16. Mississippi State (0-8)

Shaking out the cluster of 5-3 teams via tiebreakers is why considering them feels important to me in this preseason exercise. But it's a preseason endeavor, and I'm just one voter. 

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Now that’s a recruiting win.

Five-star guard Jason Crowe Jr. became the second highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to Missouri men’s basketball, picking the Tigers during a Friday afternoon commitment ceremony.

Crowe, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Inglewood, California, is ranked as the No. 5 player nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports.

He’s the highest-ranked recruit to commit to the Tigers since Michael Porter Jr. did so in 2017.

Crowe’s high school play style is heavy on scoring, particularly off the dribble. He’s a lefty who has the footwork and shot to be a threat from all parts of the floor. Assuming he continues to add size and strength, he projects as an immediate starting shooting guard for MU.

Because Crowe is rated so highly compared to his peers, Mizzou may not get him for long — prospects of his caliber tend to only stick around a year or two before moving on to the NBA. That’s looking a ways down the road, though: the next step for Missouri is signing Crowe in mid-November when he’s eligible to do so.

He’s the first 2026 recruit to commit to the Tigers.

Crowe is the seventh four-star-or-better recruit to commit to MU since Dennis Gates was hired in 2023. He and Porter are the only top-25 players in the modern recruiting rankings era to pick Missouri.

“I felt like the first call that I had with Coach Gates was a different conversation than I had with any other coach,” Crowe said after committing. “From there, it’s been a great relationship.”

He announced his decision on CBS Sports HQ from the Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, South Carolina, which brings together some of the best high school players in the country for the Nike EYBL circuit. In a Thursday night game there, Crowe went 12 for 23 from the field for 36 points.

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ATLANTA — Despite being picked in the MLB draft earlier this week, Missouri quarterback/pitcher Sam Horn remains on track to play football for the Tigers this fall, competing to be the team’s starting quarterback.

Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz confirmed Thursday that he’s been in touch with Horn and his agent throughout the pre-draft process, leaving no confusion within the team facility over Horn’s availability.

“Nothing has changed,” Drinkwitz said. “Sam and I had conversations, we’ve talked to his agent, nothing’s changed that I’ve heard of. I anticipate Sam’s commitment to our football program and our team.”

Horn was picked by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the draft. Because he’s able to throw 98 miles per hour off the mound, he was a top-100 prospect despite having thrown only 15 innings in three seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

In terms of pure upside, Horn probably would’ve been picked earlier. But his agent made clear to MLB teams that Horn intended to play football this fall. The Dodgers, then, knew what they were getting into when they picked Horn.

He has until July 28 — likely the first day of MU’s preseason camp, incidentally — to decide whether or not to sign with the Dodgers. It’s not clear if the franchise would sign Horn and let him play football or if he’ll forego a deal now and hope for better draft position in 2026.

Horn is competing with Penn State transfer Beau Pribula to be the Tigers’ starting quarterback.

“I told him the day he got drafted I was proud of him,” Drinkwitz said, “and I would see him at 6:30 workouts in the morning.”

Young takes spotlight during homecoming

Mizzou defensive end Zion Young hits quarterbacks for a living. He’s part of a deep position group that he says is full of “alpha males.” And just a few minutes into his first of many interviews as a player doing the rounds at the Southeastern Conference’s media days, he was nearly in tears.

Young, one of three players Drinkwitz chose to represent the Tigers, was back in his hometown of Atlanta for the event. He starred at Westlake High School, about 16 miles from where media days were held at the College Football Hall of Fame.

“It was unreal, just being back in my hometown where I played football,” Young said. “Me being an Atlanta native, I just can’t believe I’m here right now. … It feels good, you know what I mean, to represent this team.”

His straightforward, easygoing and energetic personality made him a hit among attending media. Soundbites like “If you were a tiger, would you want to date a cat? … You’d want to date a lion” earned him a round of applause from a collection of TV reporters as he left one media session.

Drinkwitz egged on Young by reminding him of what happened during the player’s 2021 high school signing day. He snubbed Drinkwitz and MU at the last minute to sign with Michigan State.

But after two seasons with the Spartans, Young was in the portal. Drinkwitz set aside any hurt feelings to give the defensive end a call. They made up, though Drinkwitz still finds ways to remind his senior what happened.

“I didn’t make the right decision the first time,” Young said. “But we doubled back, so we here now.”

Giudice grabs right guard spot

Who will start at another of Missouri’s open offensive line positions became clearer Thursday when Drinkwitz said Michigan transfer Dominick Giudice will mostly play right guard this season.

Giudice mostly played center with the Wolverines. Of his 317 snaps last season, 250 came at center, 63 came at right guard and four came at left guard.

Returning starter Connor Tollison, who’s on track to play Week 1 with no limitations, is holding down center, though, so Giudice will bounce one spot over for his starting role. He impressed while filling in for Tollison during spring, so coaches moved him to right guard to get him comfortable working at that spot.

Giudice is likely to have one more year of eligibility to play in 2026, if he submits a waiver that MU expects would be approved, at which point he may switch back to center. For 2025, though, the right guard spot seems to be his.

Four spots along the Tigers’ offensive line are now firmed up heading into fall camp. Wake Forest transfer Keagen Trost won the right tackle job in spring practice. Giudice will play right guard, Tollison will play center. And Cayden Green will reprise his left guard role, now as one of the best in the nation at that position.

Several linemen will then compete for the left tackle job during camp.

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A grand jury in Columbia, Missouri, indicted basketball prospect Keiner Asprilla on rape, sodomy and kidnapping charges that stem from his visit to the University of Missouri last September.

Asprilla had already been charged by local prosecutors. The indictment, which was filed with the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Boone County late last month, supersedes those charges, and is an important step in the process of bringing Asprilla to trial.

Asprilla, who came to New Jersey from Colombia, was enrolled at St. Peter’s Prep in New Jersey via an I-20 student visa. He is 18 years old, according to court records. If convicted of the first-degree rape and sodomy counts, he faces a sentence of lifetime supervision, according to court documents. He would not be eligible for parole until 85 percent of his sentence was served.

He has entered a not guilty plea in court, but his attorney, Adam Dowling, has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Asprilla is being detained at the Boone County Jail.

Crime

'He won't let me leave': Former Mizzou basketball recruiting target charged with rape

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The University of Missouri’s basketball program was recruiting Asprilla, a 7-foot center known for his elite athleticism and powerful dunk displays, last September when he arrived on campus for a visit with Oscar and Martha Ruiz, his guardians.

While in Columbia, he allegedly raped an inebriated female who he met that night three times in a $700-per-night hotel room paid for by the university. He was arrested as a fugitive from justice at St. Peter’s Prep in January and extradited to Missouri, where a juvenile court judge ruled in April that Asprilla must stand trial as an adult.

In a motion that argued against allowing Asprilla to post bond, Risa Perkins, an assistant prosecutor in Boone County, noted that Asprilla allegedly told “other people in the room to leave” as he removed his clothes and tried to undress the female. He also threw “the victim’s phone across the room so she could not get help,” the assistant prosecutor said. When Asprilla went to the bathroom, the barefoot accuser allegedly fled to the lobby wearing nothing but a large white bath towel. Perkins asserted in her filing that Asprilla, who has been in custody since being arrested in January, remained “a danger to public.”

His next court date is scheduled for August 11. An interpreter has been present for his previous hearings.