Jacob Crews averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and shot 41 percent from three last year at Tennessee-Martin. (Photo courtesy: UT Martin Athletics)

Terrance Williams
Staff Writer

The University of Missouri men’s basketball team landed the first big coup of the transfer season, when former Tennessee-Martin forward Jacob Crews committed to play for the Tigers on Tuesday.

Crews was considered one of the top players available in the transfer portal, after averaging 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and shooting 41 percent from three-point range last season.

The 6-foot-8, high-scoring wing from Hilliard, Fla., will come to Mizzou with one year of eligibility remaining.

Before playing at UT Martin last year, Crews played two seasons at North Florida before transferring to Daytona State College, where he was named an NJCAA Second-Team All-American and was voted Central Conference Player of the Year.

This past season, Crews helped lead UT Martin to the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship and was named first team All-OVC.

It is believed that nearly two dozen schools reached out to Crews about transferring, including other SEC schools like Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, and LSU. But Crews committed to Mizzou on a recruiting visit that began on Monday.

Missouri head coach Dennis Gates is expected to go after several other transfers, with more player addition announcements coming in the future.