Crootin’.

The college basketball season is officially underway, but Wednesday was also an important day for the future of the Missouri Basketball program under Cuonzo Martin. It was the start of the early signing period (for non-football sports), and the team has officially signed two of their commitments from the 2022 class, both of whom are local recruits.

First was East St. Louis combo guard Chrisitan Jones. Jones is ranked as a three-star on Rivals, but not ranked (yet) on 247Sports. The East St. Louis pipeline for Cuonzo Martin continues!

Then it was Aidan Shaw. The four-star small forward from Blue Valley High School near Overland Park, KS is ranked 57th in the country on Rivals and 46th on 247Sports. This is Cuonzo’s highest ranked recruit since the 2017 class.

And, we can’t forget about new AD Desiree Reed-Francois’ son, Jackson — who will be joining Missouri’s roster next season as a preferred walk-on.

On the women’s side, Robin Pingeton’s only pledge in the 2022 recruiting class sure is a BIG one. Welcome aboard, Averi Kroenke! The guard from Rock Bridge High School in Columbia is ranked No. 74 on ESPNW’s 2022 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings.

Here’s Kroenke on becoming a Tiger, plus Pingeton’s comments:

This is the fourth straight recruiting class that Pingeton has landed a Top 100 commit from the ESPNW’s HoopGurlz rankings:

2019: Aijha Blackwell (No. 9) and Hayley Frank (No. 26)

2020: Jayla Kelly (No. 72)

2021: Kiya Dorroh (No. 47)

You can read more information on Kroenke at MUTigers.com!

M-I-Z! Onto the links.

---

Yesterday at Rock M

• Study Hall: Mizzou 78, Central Michigan 68 — from Sam Snelling
• It’s time for the latest chapter in the Battle of Columbia, writes Brandon Kiley
• Nate Edwards has the preview of the South Carolina Gamecocks
• Wednesday Watch Grid: Game Times and Betting Lines for Week 11, from Nate Edwards and Kortay Vincent

---

More Links:

(STLToday)

• In his latest Tipsheet, Jeff Gordon writes that College basketball is off to an encouraging start in the region
• In Dave Matter’s morning takeaways: Pickett shines in Mizzou’s opener
• From Dave Matter: Mizzou basketball signs Christian Jones, Aidan Shaw
• South Carolina’s Beamer looks to build on signature win, writes Dave Matter

(KCStar)

• Javon Pickett and Kobe Brown show leadership in Mizzou Tigers’ season-opening win, writes Lila Bromberg
• From Lila Bromberg: Mizzou Tigers officially add Blue Valley’s Aidan Shaw, East St. Louis’ Christian Jones

(Columbia Missourian)

• From Nate Marcus: Getting to know Murray State ahead of the Missouri WBB season opener
• Shaw, Jones, Francois officially sign with MU men’s basketball, writes Anthony Kristensen
• MU volleyball signs four on National Signing Day, writes Emma Eaton
• From Shannon Mia Belt: Local recruit Kroenke officially a Tiger
• Preview from Joel Boenitz: Missouri wrestling opens season at North Dakota State
• Post-practice notes from Jack Soble: Cook’s first week in quarterback rotation, Hicks looks to make impact
• More questions arise after MU’s win over Central Michigan, writes Anthony Kristensen
• MU women’s basketball putting the pieces together, writes Shannon Mia Belt

(Columbia Daily Tribune)

• Eric Blum dove into what we learned from Mizzou’s win over Central Michigan
• From Chris Kwiecinski: Why Missouri’s season opener proved this is Javon Pickett’s team
• Chris Kwiecinski wonders how much better Aijha Blackwell can be for Mizzou women’s basketball

(Miscellaneous/Tweets)

• This is a must-watch. Just terrific stuff from Mizzou Women’s Basketball. Well worth the time.

• Yep, this one deserves an eyeball emoji!

• This is a huge get from Joshua Taylor and the Mizzou Volleyball program! Zatechka is one of four players who signed on National Signing Day. Mizzou’s 2022 recruiting class ranks 14th in the country, which is the highest ranked class in program history. Read more on MUTigers.com!

• Here are the five 2022 Mizzou Softball commits that have signed, with FOUR of them being in-state recruits!

• Here’s a list of Mizzou Baseball signees that happened yesterday, including some in-state commits from Fort Zumwalt West and Valle Catholic.

• On MUTigers.com, Mizzou Wrestling Adds Seven in 2022 Recruiting Class
• Tiger Style is BACK! Big 12 play begins TONIGHT at North Dakota State!

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
• If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
  (** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)