Handicapping the rest of Matters list...

Posted on: April 4, 2020 at 16:34:42 CT

of top 30 Mizzou athletes 1998-2020. To recap:

30. Arthur Johnson
29. Molly Kreklow
28. Martin Rucker
27. Derrick Peterson
26. Justin Gage
25. Henry Josey
24. Kareem Rush
23. Shane Ray
22. Sarah Shire
21. Markus Golden
20. Drew Lock
19. D’Anario Alexander
18. Aaron Crow

Of those 13, 7 are football, 2 MBB, and 1 each from baseball, VB, track, and gymnastics.

Handicapping the last 17, and reading through some responses here and other list compiled over the years, I would say the following 11 are locks:

Football: Chase Daniel, Brad Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman
MBB: Demarre Carroll
WBB: Sophie Cunningham
Softball: Chelsea Thomas
Wrestling: J’den Cox, Ben Askren
Track&Field: Karissa Schweitzer
Swimming: Fabien Schwingenschologl

That leaves only 6 open spots on the list. Here are the top contenders I see for those other 6 spots:

Football: James Franklin, Justin Smith, EJ Gaines, Marcus Murphy, L’Damien Washington, Kentrell Brothers

Softball: Emily Crane, Sami Fagan

Baseball: Scherzer, Houck, Sikkema, Gibson

Wrestling: Daniel Lewis

VB: Hunter, Henning

WBB: Jordan Frericks

MBB: Pressey, Denmon, English

So, not following any sports really closely except for softball, WBB, and VB, are there any other Mizzou athletes besides those 19 above I’ve completely missed who you think might get one of those last 6 slots after the locks?

And, of the 19 I listed, are there any you think are locks to make the list? Looking mainly for the experts on baseball, wrestling, and MBB to chime in. Is Scherzer a lock? If so, will there be a 3rd baseball player? Will there be a 3rd wrestler, and if so would it be Lewis or someone else?

I’d really hate for a big part of the list to be football players. And for a 13th or 14th football player to make the list (there are already 7, plus 4 more locks) before a 2nd softball or VB player would destroy the credibility of the list.

Edited by bluetiger_ at 16:36:21 on 04/04/20