After their NCAA Tournament ouster, it's clear that Missouri has some big issues to fix ahead of 2026. With several key players leaving to gradutaion, and likely a few more in the transfer portal, Mizzou will need to find some serious talent in the portal themselves.
The Tigers will benefit from the addition of incoming freshman and five-star recruit Jason Crowe Jr, who will likely be an immedite starter in the backcourt, but he'll need an experienced running mate. Enter Purdue Fort Wayne's Corey Hadnot II, who will be one of the hottest mid-major transfers this cycle.
The junior averaged 20.4 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists this year with the Mastodons.
Missouri must get aggressive to land Corey Hadnot II in the portal
While guards Anthony Robinson II and T.O. Barrett could opt to return to the Tigers, their play in 2025 seems to indicate they'd be better in a reserve role. While both can defend and occasionally get hot on offense, Mizzou will need some one more dangerous on the offensive end to take some heat off of the young Crowe.
Hadnot certainly fits the bill, and can score in bunches. His 52% shooting from the field would be a huge improvement over the 2025 Mizzou point guards--neither Robinson or Barrett shot over 46%. One of the Tigers' biggest needs in 2026 will be a scoring guard, and at this point it would be hard to find a better fit than Hadnot.
Missouri is no stranger to adding transfers from the Horizon league, where Dennis Gates coached at Wright State prior to his time in CoMo. Hadnot would be an experienced starter who could run alongside Crowe and solidify the Tigers' backcourt. Adding a three-and-D wing and a rim protector would be the next order of business for Gates, whose seat may start to heat up with another winless tournament in 2026-27.