Former Duke star Mark Mitchell has announced he will transfer to Missouri next season. (Photo courtesy: Duke Athletics)

Terrance Williams
Staff Writer

The University of Missouri men’s basketball team landed one of the biggest names in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday, when Duke transfer Mark Mitchell announced he would play for Mizzou next season.

In his two seasons at Duke, the Kansas City, Kan. native started all but one of the 68 games he played in and averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

As a freshman, Mitchell averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 blocks and 0.6 steals per game, and shot 46.9% from the field and 35.2% from the three-point line, while helping Duke go 27-9 overall and reach the second round of the NCAA tournament.

This past season, Mitchell notched career highs of 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. While his three-point and free throw percentages declined a bit, his accuracy on two-pointers jumped from 50.3% as a freshman to 59.0% as a sophomore. Mitchell’s presence pushed the Blue Devils to another 27-9 record, this time reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

Mitchell visited Missouri out of high school, but ultimately ended up choosing Duke.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward was the No. 21-ranked recruit in the Class of 2022 and now has two seasons of eligibility left. He is the fourth transfer to commit to Mizzou this offseason, joining a group of newcomers that includes Tennessee-Martin transfer forward Jacob Crews, Iowa transfer guard Tony Perkins, and Northern Kentucky guard Marques Warrick.

Collectively, that group provides the mix of point guard, scoring-capable combo guard, sizable perimeter option, and frontcourt upgrade that head coach Dennis Gates and his staff has targeted in the portal.

That group will be four of nine newcomers, which includes five freshmen signees, who will join the Missouri program after its 0-18 run through Southeastern Conference play. That number could rise to 10 with the possible addition of Pepperdine forward Jevon Porter, who is in the portal and part of the Mizzou-connected Porter family, which includes both his older brothers, two of his older sisters, his parents, and current Mizzou women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton, who is his aunt.