By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Class of 2026 four-star big man Tristan Reed has scheduled three official visits, a source told ZAGSBLOG: Missouri (late August), Mississippi State (Sept. 5) and Ohio State (Sept. 12).
Reed, the 6-foot-9 center, had a productive summer with Mokan Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit. He split time with another four-star big man, Ethan Taylor, and was part of one of the best one-two big man punches in AAU basketball. At Peach Jam, Reed led Mokan in performance index rating and averaged 10.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in just over 16 minutes per contest.
The big man is the younger brother of UConn center Tarris Reed, who averaged 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Huskies last season as a junior. His other older brother, Trevor Reed, plays at Division III Denison University and is coming off his sophomore season. Tristan is looking to follow a similar path.
“My whole family they’re home this week,” Reed said. “My two brothers are all at home. It’s been pretty good to spend time with them, be able to get some workouts in and just being able to hang as a family.”
Recently, Reed made the move to transfer to Link Academy, where Tarris finished his high school career. What went into the decision?
“It’ll help prepare me more getting into the college lifestyle,” Reed said. “Of course, not exactly the same, but it’ll get me prepared for college to be able to play as a freshman or a sophomore; being able to play as a younger dude. My family’s helped with that a lot because it was hard. I’ve been at Burroughs since 7th grade, so I’ve built a lot of great relationships, friends, and met a lot of people there. It’s hard leaving them, but I know that there’s bigger things ahead and that it’s just a new chapter of my story. I’m just looking forward to it.”
With visits now set in stone, Reed broke down the three schools he’s tripping:
Missouri: “I have a great relationship with coach [Kyle] Smithpeters. He’s the one who’s been recruiting me the hardest. They’ve been out to a few of my games at [John] Burroughs. They’ve been watching me. I’ve been down there for an unofficial before. It’s just going down there, seeing how the team’s are, seeing how the school is and the life in Columbia. Plus it’s an hour and a half away, so it’s not like it’s too much to go down there and visit.”
Mississippi State: “It’s coach [George] Brooks. Their program is pretty good. Coach Brooks and their head coach have been in chats with me. My dad has a great relationship with coach Brooks because he was recruiting Tarris early on in his high school career. Plus, I have some family that lives in Starkville, so that’ll be good. I know that they have a good program and a good fan base. I’m just excited to visit, go up there, meet the staff, see that campus, and just see what I can do.”
Ohio State: “That relationship has been great. I’ve got a good relationship with coach [Jamall] Walker, coach [Jake] Diebler, and starting with coach [Brian] Walsh, I’ve been texting him a little. I’ve been up to Ohio State for that unofficial visit. Just keep talking and communicating, seeing where things can go, and now I got that official visit set.”
Iowa and Michigan State are two other schools Reed would like to visit. The big man has started to think about a timeline for narrowing it down.
“I still don’t know exactly when, but I know I don’t want to do it too early or too late. It’ll be the perfect time for me,” Reed said. “I’m just still exploring, just seeing which schools I have the best relationship with and which schools I can see myself at that cater to me, where I can build the most relationships and where I can grow the best.”
Reed is ranked the No. 69 overall prospect in the 2026 class by 247Sports.
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