On March 17, 2022, Aidan Shaw, a four-star player and 66th-ranked player according to ESPN, decommitted from the University of Missouri and reopened his recruitment for the 2022-2023 NCAA season. On April 6, 2022, Shaw decided to stick with his original commitment and play for the Missouri Tigers once again. This serves as the first high school commit for the Missouri Tigers’ new head coach Dennis Gates. While Gates has done a solid job in the transfer portal and still has scholarships available, locking down Shaw is an important step for the program and his tenure as coach of the Tigers.

Shaw, a Kansas native, was one of the top recruits in the Midwest and was a must-get for the Tigers. While not being able to get the top players that powerhouses like Kansas and Arkansas were able to get in players like Gradey Dick or Jordan Walsh, this signing shows a focus on locking down recruits in the Midwest. If Gates is able to steal some players from Kansas and Illinois, while being able to gain control over the basketball melting pot that is St. Louis, that could see the Tigers having the success of bitter rival Kansas in a couple of years.

This signing also shows that Gates can convince high-end players to come to Columbia, MO which is promising for the future. Gates was hired on March 22, 2022, meaning that he had just over two weeks to convince Shaw to return to his original decision. Most players who committed to a coach that got fired do not tend to stay committed to that university, so this decision breaks the trend. With Gates being able to do this in such a short period of time, imagine what he is able to do when he gets a full recruiting cycle to convince top players to join the Tigers.

Gates entered a very unappealing situation, however, the addition of Shaw creates promise if paired with more big-name players from the transfer portal. The Tigers could push for the tournament if Gates can close out the transfer period strong and could be fighting to make the second or even third weekend of March Madness in the near future.