Insider links 5-star commit Jason Crowe Jr. to surprise SEC program amid links to Mark Pope's Kentucky

Jason Crowe Jr., a five-star recruit from the Class of 2026, said that he will announce his collegiate decision on July 18.

The 6-foot-3 shooting guard, who ranks No. 6 nationally, according to On3's Industry Rankings, shared the news on Instagram account on Friday.

"5⭐️ Jason Crowe Jr. will announce his commitment on July 18th! Where do you want to see him hoop? 👀," the post was captioned.

With plenty of programs in contention for Crowe Jr.'s signature, including Kentucky, USC, Washington, Texas, Baylor, UCLA and Arkansas, On3's Joe Tipton revealed that the Missouri Tigers have started to gain some serious momentum.

While Kentucky was the frontrunner, with Jason Crowe Jr.'s father, Jason Crowe Sr., being close friends with the Wildcats assistant coach Jason Hart, they face some serious competition from the Tigers.

Crowe Jr. discussed his conversation with Mark Pope and the type of game Kentucky plays, in a conversation with On3.

“My relationship is real good with them. Coach (Mark) Pope texted me before USA to just be myself, and to play my game. That helped,” Crowe Jr. said. “They shoot a lot of threes, and obviously I’m a shooter. They play run-and-gun and that’s how I like to play.”

The Inglewood High School player ranks third in the shooting guard position and fifth in California. Last season, he played 27 games and scored 35.3 points on 49.0% shooting, dished out 6.1 assists, grabbed 4.0 rebounds, stole the ball 3.1 times and had 0.5 blocks per game.

He led the school to a 26-7 record and a 7-0 record in the California Southern Section Ocean Basketball, where they finished first. However, they were knocked out in the second round of the 2025 CIF state title following a tight 71-69 loss to Windward.

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Joe Tipton on Missouri's surprise entry to sign Jason Crowe Jr.

For a long time, On3's recruitment prediction machine had given USC, Kentucky and UCLA the highest probability of signing the shooting guard. However, Tipton discussed Missouri's momentum as we approach Crowe Jr.'s recruitment date.

“However, according to multiple sources, one school has quietly started gaining serious momentum, Missouri,” Tipton wrote. “The Tigers have discreetly entered the mix and appear to be the team to beat as we enter the final stretch of this recruitment.”

However, On3 has given Missouri a 2.9% prediction to land Crowe Jr.