Four-star guard Aaron Rowe is set to come off the board on Tuesday afternoon. Columbia (Mo.) Father Tolton High School star has announced a final three of Kansas State, Missouri and Tennessee, all of which he has visited in recent months. Rowe can only choose one program, however, and the hometown team seems to have made a late push.
Below, Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy ranks the three contenders to land Rowe’s commitment in order how likely they are to come out on top when Rowe makes the call on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. ET.
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1. MISSOURI
The presumed front-runner as we head down the final stretch, Missouri offers Rowe familiarity, as the four-star prospect grew up just a handful of miles away from the school’s Columbia, Mo., campus. Rivals noted that MU was the team to watch for Rowe last month, and that line of thinking has only gotten more common in the weeks since. Mizzou has already made a statement about the level at which it intends to recruit under Dennis Gates by assembling an impressive 2024 class. Landing Rowe early in the 2025 cycle would certainly be an extension of the momentum the program has already built under its second-year head coach.
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2. KANSAS STATE
Rowe has a relationship with the Wildcat staff and is particularly close with assistant Rodney Perry, who helped build the Link Academy program for which Rowe once played. Rowe visited Manhattan back in September. And while Kansas State seemed to be nipping at Mizzou’s heels in the aftermath of the trip, it seems as though some desperation has taken hold in the recent weeks. Jerome Tang’s program got involved in Rowe’s recruitment early and made a strong play, but the early announcement seems like bad news for the Cats. It’ll be an abrupt shock if K-State is the pick on Tuesday afternoon.
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3. TENNESSEE
The Vols feel like a longshot, but they’ve been included on Rowe’s list of finalists, so they get a courtesy mention here. Rowe visited Knoxville in mid-October and brought his family along for the trip, but things have felt pretty quiet between the two parties since. Strange things tend to happen in the recruiting world, but a surprise pick for Tennessee would be jarring even to those that closely follow comings and goings on the trail.
