The No. 21 overall player in the Class of 2026, Toni Bryant, becomes the second five-star prospect in the Class of 2026 to join Dennis Gates’ squad, according to ESPN’s Paul Biancardi.
Bryant chose the Tigers over Arizona, Florida State, Kansas, North Carolina, NC State, and several others.
“He’s athletic, mobile, has good positional size, and typically plays with the motor necessary to maximize those tools. He runs the floor very well, gets above the rim with ease, can jump off on or two feet, is an emphatic finisher, major lob threat, and active offensive rebounder”, 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein said. There are flashes of inside-out tools. He’s willing to post, can go through the lane with a single bounce, and has some developing face-up touch. The problem is he can try too hard to prove that skill and is rarely a quick decision-maker on the perimeter, so he can be a ball-stopper and not always as outright productive as his tools suggest
Bryant, who turns 19 in November will be the third-highest rated prospect to commit to Missouri joining Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (Class of 2017) and current Missouri commit Jason Crowe Jr., who is rated as the No. 4 player in the state of California, according to 247Sports.
Missouri still remains to be in the hunt to land four-star shooting guard Aidan Chronister and four-star power forward Tristan Reed to complete the Class of 2026 recruiting targets.
During his junior season at North Tampa Christian, Bryant averaged 21.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 66% from the field and 43% from behind the arc. During the PUMA PRO16 League, Bryant averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. He also opted against participating in the NBPA Top 100 Camp. He was not chosen for the USA Basketball Trials, so there were fewer opportunities for him to prove himself against top national competition.
Zephyrhills Christian Academy is coming off a 20-7 record in the 2024-2025 season, during which they reached the regional semifinals before their season came to an end against Central Florida Christian Academy.
