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Mar 5, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) walks down the court after a play against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Mizzou's Caleb Grill 'Got Back' to Himself in Rise to SEC Sixth Man of the Year Win

Originally posted on Missouri Tigers on SI
By Chase Gemes | Last updated Mar 11, 2025 4:28 PM ET

The 2025 Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year wasn't even originally pinned to be in a bench role.

Missouri guard Caleb Grill started the first game of the regular season gainst the Memphis Tigers, but struggled with four points on 2-of-7 shooting. Returning from a wrist injury that cut his first season short, it wasn't the ideal start for the senior.

Coach Dennis Gates didn't waste much time before realizing something needed to change. Though it wasn't the expectation for Grill, coming off the bench seemed to be a better situation to help get his confidence back.

With both of Grill's parents in his office — two of the people he trusts the most — Gates reached the final decision.

Initially, the change wasn't something Grill was particularly excited about, nor did it bring much change. The next game against the Howard Bison in 14 minutes of action, he only mustered up two points without a field goal.

Three days later against the Eastern Washington Eagles, the Grill opposing SEC defenses have come to fear became fully realized. This time in 32 minutes, he dropped 33 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting — including eight 3-pointers.

Stringing that with 15, 25 and 14-point performances consecutively, Grill had found his comfort in the sixth-man role. Now, it only made sense to keep what's working going.

"The silver lining is that it was a path that he did not automatically accept, but it was a path that we saw a different response to his level of focus, his specific stats," Gates said in a press conference Tuesday. "At that point, you don't want to disrupt the rhythm."

A freak neck injury suffered on Nov. 27 derailed Grill's process in the month of December, but he was ready to get back in the lineup ahead of SEC play. Though he finished with zero points against the No. 1 Auburn Tigers in the first game of the slate, from then on, he was one of the conference's premier scorers.

A change could've been made to put Grill back in the starting lineup upon his second return, but neither he nor Gates desired that option. The bench is where he found his best play in his collegiate career, and that was the best move to help the Tigers continue to win games.

Ultimately, that's what Grill cared about the most.

"I think when I started focusing more on how I can impact winning, I think everything just settled in and came together," Grill said. "As long as I knew I was doing everything right, giving it my best and just playing for the guy next to me ... I would be able to just flow better with the offense and the defense, and not be so tense."

Through Grill's resurgence as a sixth man, his confidence has gone beyond just his performance on the court. He went through ups and downs at his first stop with the Iowa State Cyclones, losing trust in others and putting up a metaphorical "shield" around himself.

Conversations with Gates — such as the one that granted him his new role — helped shatter that shield. The relationship Grill has with both Gates and the rest of his teammates is stronger than ever, and is part of why Missouri has found so much success this season.

"I think just those conversations with coach Gates and my family ... that's really what helped me open up our relationship and help us really get close with one another," Grill said.

It took years of setbacks to get to this point, but through all of that, Grill has found himself again.

"Being able to get back to myself and who I am, I think that's one of the reasons why I've been playing better and enjoying this a lot more than I have been in the past," Grill said. "It's helped me become a better leader, and helped me guide other people to overcome things I struggled with at the beginning parts of my college career."

Perhaps more than the sixth man role itself, the trust Grill grew with Gates and the Tigers helped bring out the best in him. It might've been a tough ask four months ago, but the willingness to accept it has been a best-case scenario for all of the parties involved.

Results in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments might be the final goal before Grill hangs up his Missouri jersey for good, but a Sixth Man of the Year nod is a not a bad way to represent the story of his final season.

"He just basically grew into that role, and he accepted it," Gates said. "Therefore, the byproduct of you fully accepting a role that you may not have agreed upon leads to you being voted by others, not by coach Gates, but by others ... I'm proud of him."

This article first appeared on Missouri Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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