Dennis Gates has once again pulled an impressive player out of the NCAA transfer portal. Former BYU forward Kennard Davis has committed to play for Missouri, On3 has learned. Davis joins a Tigers team looking to once again impress during the 2026-2027 season.
Just one season was spent at BYU by Davis. Southern Illinois is where his college career began. Davis broke out as a sophomore, averaging 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. His performances with the Salukis were good enough to draw interest from multiple Division I programs, eventually landing in Provo.
Head coach Kevin Young trusted Davis enough to put him in the starting lineup on a nightly basis. Davis played and started in 32 games for BYU. Moving up a level in the college basketball world meant the numbers did take a hit, though. Davis had 8.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season.
There were some off-court issues Davis ran into. Back in November, he was cited for marijuana possession and driving under the influence. Davis was arrested following a car crash, where the charges came from. However, recent news revealed that they have been dropped.
A suspension did come down from Young because of the incident. Davis missed three games, all in the month of November.
“The reasoning was that by Utah law, they didn’t have evidence of a DUI,” attorney Danny Frazier told the Deseret News on April 21. “There was no impairing substance in his system, nothing under Utah law that’s considered an impairing substance. No alcohol … no THC, no other prescription drugs, nothing like that.”
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Missouri is off and running when it comes to the transfer portal. Davis makes it commitment No. 4 of the offseason for the Tigers. Three freshmen will be joining the program as well, two of whom rank inside the class of 2026‘s top 20. The group is highlighted by five-star shooting guard Jason Crowe Jr.
This will be the fifth season of Gates in Columbia. Three NCAA Tournament appearances are on the resume. Two have resulted in first-round losses. Missouri is hoping it can find a way to take a step forward.