Two Missouri basketball players officially entered the NCAA transfer portal on Saturday, redshirt sophomore forward Parker Braun and senior guard Mark Smith, MU confirmed.
The 6-foot-8 Braun, from Overland Park, Kansas, originally came to Mizzou as a walk-on before going on scholarship last year. He appeared in 20 of 26 games off the bench this season, averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.
Smith is a surprise move. The Edwardsville native was one of the team’s five seniors who was eligible to return to school for another year of eligibility but was not expected back at Mizzou for the 2021-22 season. If he indeed plays somewhere next season as a graduate student, it won’t be at Mizzou.
Smith started his career at Illinois then transferred to MU after his freshman season. He started 60 of the 69 games he played over three seasons at Mizzou and averaged 10.3 points per game while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range.
Mizzou has already landed a commitment from the portal, Amari Davis, a sophomore guard from University of Green Bay. As the roster stands now, the Tigers have five scholarship players plus five incoming freshmen and Davis with room to add two more players.