Caleb Grill was easily one of the brightest spots of the Missouri Tigers' 2024-25 campaign, posting career-high numbers and earning multiple awards throughout the season, all while coming off the bench.
He was a key reason for the incredible turnaround of Mizzou’s season, deserving much of the credit for the constant upsets by his squad as they made a run at the juggernaut SEC conference this year.
Despite the shortcomings in the NCAA Tournament, the team fought hard, and many players and staff received well-earned recognition. One of them was Grill, who took home the SEC Conference Sixth Man of the Year award in early March when the regular season concluded.
Even though the Tigers' season came to an unfortunate close in the first round of March Madness against No. 11-seeded Drake, Grill, one of the best 3-point threats in the country, still had one more opportunity to compete as his collegiate career came to a close.
Grill was named one of eight competitors in the 36th annual E*TRADE 3-Point Championship in San Antonio. The sixth-year player was one of two from the SEC named to the contest, joining LSU guard Cam Carter, one of the best players in the conference this season.
He finished the first round with 20 points, tied for the second-highest score, which was enough to move on. He followed that up with an even better 23-point performance in the semifinals, leading all competitors.
Cooking in round one ♨️
— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) April 3, 2025
Caleb Grill advances to the semifinals of the 3-Point Championship with 20 points in the first round 👌☔️3⃣#MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/rEZdbDW8s4
His 43 combined points set up what promised to be an exciting final round, as Grill hoped to stay hot and finish strong.
He didn't quite come through in the end, losing 20-15 to UC-San Diego's Tyler McGhie. The senior, who took on a full-time starting guard role this season, was among the best in the Big West Conference from beyond the arc.
Grill finished the day by draining a half-court shot in the Dave's Hot Chicken Hot Shot Challenge, securing the win for his team.
Caleb's half-court shot leads his team to the 🏆 in the Dave's Hot Chicken Hot Shot Challenge#MIZ 🐯 https://t.co/tihHbwZCJF
— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) April 3, 2025
The evening concluded with a women's 3-point contest, a slam dunk competition, and the 3-point championship, where the winners of the men's and women's contests competed against each other.
It’s nice to see Grill compete one last time in a Tiger jersey, and even nicer to see him find some success. Despite his career year for Mizzou, he’ll move on next season to the next level of play.