Data study · every season we hold

Where Missouri High School Basketball Players Go to College

Of the 527 players from Missouri high schools on a college roster in our data, 38% played their college basketball in Missouri.

Computed from 527 players · 2020–21 to 2026–27 · updated Sep 16, 2026

527
players in the dataset
38%
stayed in Missouri
42%
reached D1
Illinois
#1 destination outside Missouri

38% stay in-state.

Missouri is below the 42% all-state baseline.

Missouri skews away from D3.

26% of Missouri players in the dataset reached D3, against 42% nationally.

Illinois and Tennessee are the first destinations out.

Among players leaving Missouri, 19% went to Illinois and 7% to Tennessee.

Missouri's college players skew heavily away from D3

Missouri vs all states · share of players at each level

Missouri

D142%
D232%
D326%

n = 527

All states

D136%
D223%
D342%

n = 31,911

MOAll statesDifference
D142%36%+6 pts
D232%23%+9 pts
D326%42%−16 pts

Where Missouri players land

Destination states
Destination statePlayersShare
Missouri19838%
Illinois6112%
Tennessee245%
Texas245%
Kansas204%
Iowa132%
North Carolina122%
Indiana112%

Which programs take Missouri players

Historical landings
ProgramDivisionStatePlayers
Westminster (PA)D3Missouri35
Missouri S&TD2Missouri21
WebsterD3Missouri17
DruryD2Missouri16
MillikinD3Illinois14
Truman StateD2Missouri14
LindenwoodD1Missouri12
Austin PeayD1Tennessee9
Maryville (MO)D2Missouri9
Illinois CollegeD3Illinois8

What this means for a Missouri recruit

How to read it

Start local, but don't stop local.

38% of Missouri players in the dataset stayed in-state — the programs most likely to see you play repeatedly are the ones nearby.

Your realistic level matters more than geography alone.

Missouri's historical landings skew away from D3 (26% vs 42% nationally).

Past recruiting is a signal, not a guarantee.

A program that repeatedly rosters players from your state has demonstrated a pathway; it does not mean it will recruit you.

Those are the historical patterns for Missouri. Where does your profile fit?

Depth Chart scores your size, position, level and recruiting profile against all 1,060 programs.

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Methodology

Source · sample · scope

527 players · 1,060 programs · 2020–21 to 2026–27

Definitions and scope
Source
Official rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart.
Home state
The state of the high school on the player's record — the same definition the state tool uses, so the two read the same data the same way.
Level
Each player counts once, at the highest level they reached across the seasons we hold (D1 over D2 over D3).
Sample
527 players from Missouri high schools, across every season we hold; roster coverage runs 2020–21 to 2026–27. A state with fewer than 200 players in our data is not published, because it would describe a coincidence rather than a pattern.
Computed
Sep 16, 2026 · methodology state-landing-pages-1

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