Forward Tray Jackson intends to transfer away from Missouri men’s basketball, the program confirmed Saturday.

Jackson officially entered the NCAA transfer portal Saturday, a source told the Tribune.

Jackson was one of three players in the Tigers' Class of 2019. With the previous departure of Mario McKinney Jr., only Kobe Brown remains from last year's trio of true freshmen.

Jackson played in 26 of Missouri's 31 games this past season but never started. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds while playing eight minutes per game.

The 6-foot-8 post was a top-100 recruit in 2019 and chose Missouri from a list of 21 Division I offers.

Jackson has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

His transfer would leave the Tigers with two open scholarship spots for the 2020-21 season.

Jackson’s role with the Tigers this season was ever-changing. At times, he looked like an integral member to the team’s success.

He scored 11 points in nine minutes against Tennessee and had back-to-back nine-point games against Arkansas and LSU, playing a combined 34 minutes in those games.

After the three-point loss to LSU on Feb. 11, Jackson never got more than 10 minutes in a game or scored more than four points in a single performance.

Toward the end of the season, coach Cuonzo Martin discussed the possibility in the future of playing Jackson at the small forward position instead of at power forward, a change that may have opened up more playing time for him.

Although Missouri was primed to have a few players competing for playing time against Jackson next season, his playmaking ability figured to make him an important piece going forward.

That potential never came to fruition with the Tigers as Jackson will now head elsewhere.

eblum@columbiatribune.com