Missouri, Ohio State among options for 4-star center prospect, Tristan Reed

Tristan Reed is one of the better centers in the 2026 college basketball recruiting class. A consensus top-100 and four-star prospect, Reed is a 6’9 big man from Saint Louis, Missouri. He’s the younger brother of Tarris Reed, the projected starting center for the UConn Huskies.

Tristan is best served to play the five-spot, as his interior game on both ends is stronger than what a traditional power forward can do while being on the perimeter. He’s a solid defender and a quality athlete, one whose development prospects make him an intriguing candidate for a power conference.

Right now, there are three teams firmly in the mix to land Reed, all setting up future official visits. Here’s a look at how he’d fit with each of those options.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Buldogs are set to run with Wichita State transfer center Quincy Ballard next season. He’ll be gone, leaving guys like Gai Choi and freshmen Tee Bartlett and Jamario Davis-Fleming as potential options for the future. They could use another big with Reed’s talent to shore up the depth, but there could be a potential logjam to deal with.

Missouri Tigers

Missouri has plenty of frontcourt depth for the upcoming season, thanks to incoming transfers Shawn Phillips Jr. and Jevon Porter. Both will be gone after next year, leaving Oklahoma transfer Luke Northwestern and redshirt freshman center Trent Burns as future options. There’s no clear path to playing time if Burns proves to be a legit SEC player, but with the Tigers being a local option, that could prove to be the most important in this sweepstakes.

Ohio State Buckeyes

OSU’s center rotation next season is a pair of transfers in Christoph Tilly and Josh Ojianwuna, both of whom are seniors. Even if Ojianwuna, who is reportedly injured, redshirts, there’s still a pathway for Reed to come in and get minutes. He’d also follow in his brother's footsteps by joining a Big Ten program out of college.