Shortly before the official word came in, Aaron Rowe may have let the secret slip.

“After my visit with Mizzou”, the junior Tolton point guard said before announcing his college destination, “I just felt like it was the right place to be, and I didn’t wanna keep any of the other college coaches waiting thinking that they (were) gonna get me, so I just wanted to get it out of the way.”

First came the hint, then came the big reveal: He removed his Trailblazers training jersey to reveal a Mizzou-emblazoned t-shirt.

There, officially, it was. Rowe announced his commitment to Mizzou men’s basketball during a ceremony Tuesday at Tolton High School in Columbia. In doing so, he became the first player to pledge his name to MU coach Dennis Gates’ Class of 2025.

The point guard is ranked among the top 25 prospects in his class by each of the major recruiting services, which rank him as a consensus four-star recruit. On3 ranks him as high as the No. 18 player in his class.

It was a long process — one dating all the way back to freshman season. But there’s been an ever-present figure throughout.

As soon as Gates was hired to lead the MU basketball program back in March 2022, Rowe said, the coach and his staff were in the hunt for his signature.

“Right when they came on the coaching staff,” Rowe told the Columbia Daily Tribune, “it was like the first week, they came to one of my practices.”

The MU coaching staff kept in contact through Rowe’s transfer to Branson, where he spent his sophomore season playing for Link Academy. Now, back at Tolton and expected to begin suiting up for the Trailblazers again in January, the chase continued. Rowe narrowed his list of potential schools down to three: Mizzou, Kansas State and Tennessee.

His mother, Tina Rowe, was impressed with her son’s level-headedness throughout the lengthy recruitment process, saying that he took the attention and the interest in stride.

She was equally impressed with what Gates and Co. brought to the table.

“That was one of the biggest things that (was) important to us, is just that he was around a group of men that were going to hold him accountable and be good role models for him,” Tina Rowe said. “And that's something that we feel like Coach Gates and all the assistant coaches are about.”

Aaron was impressed, too.

“They keep in contact with me I'd say like every week. They talked to me every week, and it was very close, it’s like family,” he said. “(MU assistant coach) C.Y. (Young), he’s like super funny, he’s probably one of the funniest coaches that has recruited me. Coach Gates, he always keeps it real with me.”

It was still a close race to the finish line. The point guard had a relationship with one of Tennessee's coaches, who used to coach Rowe’s AAU team (MoKan). Ultimately, the Tolton junior said that the Vols didn’t really fit his playing style. Kansas State, he noted, was Missouri’s main competitor in the race for his pledge. But this man ain't a Wildcat.

It was the hometown school that landed a budding star in its backyard.

“I think that Aaron, at the end of the day, just really wanted to be home and be able to play here,” Tina Rowe said. “He's grown up a Mizzou fan, so he just really wanted to play here, and once Coach Gates got here and he built that relationship he felt like he could do that — he can still play at a high level but stay home.”

That’s Missouri’s gain.

“I know how hard he works; I know how dedicated he is to his craft,” Tolton coach Jeremy Osborne said. “So to see him be able to do it, and then also do it for a hometown team, that’s an awesome feeling.”

The Tigers aren’t currently short on point guards. Sixth-year seniors Nick Honor and Sean East II have started every game for MU (7-3) this season.

But by the time Rowe arrives on campus in 2025, they’ll be two years removed. Freshman point guard Anthony Robinson II has cracked the lineup in every game this season, and the Tigers have a commitment in a loaded Class of 2024 from fellow Link Academy point guard T.O. Barrett.

There’s little question why Gates got in contact so quickly after arriving and stayed in contact through Rowe’s move south.

As a freshman, Rowe helped the Trailblazers to the Class 4 state title game. As a sophomore in Branson, he was part of a high school national championship team.

And now he’s joining a team whose coach, time and time again, has expressed his desire to hang banners and cut down nets. The Tigers have put together one of the most successful years of recruiting in team history, currently holding the No. 2-ranked class in the 2024 cycle with five top-100-rated signees.

Missouri hasn’t waited to build on that, either.

Aaron Rowe is staying home.

“Mizzou is gonna get a lot of fun, I’m gonna play with a lot of heart,” he said. “And (I’ll) just go out there and give it my all every time, and that’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Tolton’s Aaron Rowe arrived at Mizzou commitment, and who MU is getting