Missouri freshman Jackson intends to transfer

Missouri's Tray Jackson dribbles around Southern Illinois' Eric McGill during the second half of a game Dec. 15, 2019, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Missouri's Tray Jackson dribbles around Southern Illinois' Eric McGill during the second half of a game Dec. 15, 2019, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

COLUMBIA - Missouri forward Tray Jackson will soon complete the process of transferring away from the Tigers and become the second freshman to leave the program since Christmas.

First reported by PowerMizzou, and later confirmed by a team spokesperson, Jackson is set to join Mario McKinney Jr. in leaving Cuonzo Martin's program. McKinney landed at John A. Logan College, a community college in Carterville, Ill. Jackson has not yet officially transferred, though he intends to do so, and was still on the team's online roster page as of Saturday afternoon.

Jackson was a four-star prospect from Detroit who spent a prep season in 2019 at Sunrise Christian Academy outside of Wichita, Kan. He did not earn consistent minutes in his freshman season playing for Martin, though he showed flashes of his athleticism and speed in attacking the rim and ability to provide an offensive spark before the Tigers' offense got rolling.

Jackson appeared in 26-of-31 games this season with zero starts, averaging 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 8.1 minutes per game. Jackson shot 43.3 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from 3-point range and 69 percent at the foul line.

The best game of his short Missouri career came Jan. 7 against Tennessee, in which he scored 11 points in nine minutes, but then Jackson played just 10 minutes combined across the next four games.

The departures of Jackson and McKinney, plus the graduation of Reed Nikko and the signature of 7-foot-2 center Jordan Wilmore, give Missouri two open scholarships in the 2020 class.

The Tigers are one of four programs remaining in the recruitment of five-star guard Josh Christopher (Lakewood, Calif.), along with Michigan, UCLA and Arizona State. Christopher's older brother Caleb just finished his freshman season with the Sun Devils, while his cousin, Nicodemus Christopher, is Missouri's director of athletic performance.