The top junior college player in the nation, Curt Lewis (Louisville, Ky.) is the latest to join the Missouri men’s basketball program, signing with the team on Wednesday.
Named the 2022-23 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, Lewis led John A. Logan to its first national championship in 2023. He is the nation’s third-ranked recruit according to JucoRecruiting.com and is the second student-athlete to sign with the Tigers on Wednesday, joining Colorado State transfer John Tonje.
“An elite shot maker on the perimeter, Curt is coming off a highly-successful season where he led his junior college to its first national championship,” said Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. “As the nation’s top junior college player, he made more than 48 percent of his 3-pointers and showed a great ability to share the ball. He is a champion in the classroom, on the court and in the community and we’re excited for him to bring that championship mindset to our program.”
A 6-foot-5 guard, Lewis led the Volunteers with 14.3 points during the 2022-23 campaign, helping the team to a 33-2 overall record. He shot 51.8 percent from the field and ranked fifth nationally with a 48.3 percent clip from 3-point range, while also adding 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.3 steals per game and 1.1 blocks per game.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native was especially strong during the postseason as the Volunteers lifted their first national title. Lewis scored a career-best 27 points in the national semifinal against Tallahassee before tallying a team-best 18 points to go with seven rebounds and two steals in the national championship win versus Northwest Florida State.
In addition to his National Player of the Year accolades, Lewis was named a first-team All-American and to the National Championship All-Tournament Team. He spent his first two collegiate seasons at Eastern Kentucky, averaging 10.4 points per game, and now has two years of eligibility remaining at Mizzou.
“We are very excited for Curt and his family,” said John A. Logan head coach Tyler Smithpeters. “He represented John A. Logan with respect. He is a winner on and off the court and puts the team goals before himself. We look forward to watching Curt’s success at Mizzou.”
Lewis is the second-straight NJCAA National Player of the Year to join Mizzou as Sean East II earned the accolade following the 2021-22 campaign.
Lewis joins a Missouri program that is coming off one its most successful campaigns in years during the 2022-23 season. In the team’s first year with Gates as head coach, the Tigers finished with 25 wins – their most in 11 seasons – while claiming their first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years.
Mizzou also owns a top-25 freshman class – singing Jordan Butler, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II to National Letters of Intent in November to go with preferred walk-ons in JV Brown and Danny Stephens.
The Missouri men’s basketball team inked its first player of the spring signing period with the addition of guard John Tonje (Omaha, Neb.) from Colorado State, announced on Wednesday.
A four-year standout with the Rams who helped the team earn 80 victories during his four seasons on campus, Tonje collected 1,051 points, 359 rebounds and 102 assists during his career – shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point range.
“One of the most experienced transfers in the nation, John is a proven winner during his college career,” said Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. “He brings a veteran leadership to our locker room and epitomizes our eight core values on and off the court. He adds size to our perimeter and is a three-level scorer that will make an immediate impact on our success.”
A 6-foot-5 guard, Tonje ranked second for the Rams in 2022-23 with a career-best 14.6 points per game. The Omaha, Nebraska, native also set personal bests with a field goal percentage of 47.3 and a 3-point clip of 38.9 during this past season, adding 4.7 rebounds, 43 assists and 25 steals. Overall, the senior placed 11th in the Mountain West Conference in scoring, seventh with a 61.1 true-shooting percentage, ninth with 61 made 3-pointers and eighth with a free-throw mark of 81.5 percent.
During his standout career, Tonje started 46 games for a Colorado State team that won 80 games and 45 conference contests, advancing to the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a six seed.
Tonje is the latest addition of a Missouri program that is coming off one its most successful campaigns in years during the 2022-23 season. In the team’s first year with Gates as head coach, the Tigers finished with 25 wins – their most in 11 seasons – while claiming their first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years.
Mizzou also owns a top-25 freshman class – singing Jordan Butler, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II to National Letters of Intent in November to go with preferred walk-ons in JV Brown and Danny Stephens.
