Charles Bass commits to Missouri football: 'The coaches made me feel wanted'

4-star safety prospect will play college football in the Southeastern Conference

East St. Louis 2025 S Charles Bass III / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports

Charles Bass III is staying close to home.

Bass, a 4-star safety prospect at East St. Louis (Illinois), announced on Wednesday that he has committed to the University of Missouri.

“I’m going to Mizzou," Bass told Andrew Nemec, SBLive Sports' Director of Recruiting. "Why? The coaches made me feel wanted. The people… there’s great people down there. I feel like I can be developed there. I see Mizzou going for a national championship in the coming years.”

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, ranked by Rivals as the No. 97 prospect nationally in the Class of 2025, received more than two dozen scholarship offers and narrowed his decision to Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Kansas State.

Bass said Wednesday that he pledged to the Tigers on his official visit.

“I told the staff during my official visit. I told coach Drink [Eliah Drinkwitz]. He was excited. He had been recruiting me for awhile. It was a big relief going to a place where I know I’m wanted.”

Bass is ranked by Rivals as the fifth-best prospect in Illinois in his class and the ninth-best safety prospect nationally. He becomes the 17th known commitment for the Tigers in the 2025 class and the fourth from the St. Louis area, joining Eureka offensive tackle Jack Lange, De Smet linebacker Jason King and Belleville (Ill.) Althoff defensive lineman Jason Dowell.

“I knew I wanted to go to Missouri when I got around the players," he said. "The players made me feel wanted. It was everybody – the players, the people, the coaches... I felt like everybody worked together to make me a part of things."

Bass continues a recent run of East St. Louis prospects heading a few hours west to the University of Missouri. The Tigers' 2024 roster includes standout junior wide receiver Luther Burden III and junior cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., a transfer from Clemson.

The latest East St. Louis standout gets to play his college football just two hours away from home.

“It's definitely great," he said. "It’s awesome to get to play in front of my family on the stage I'm playing on. I wanted to pick the school that was best for me regardless of where it was, but my family being there is just a huge plus."

Bass has been an impact player for the Flyers, who are 22-5 over his sophomore and junior seasons with one state championship and one runner-up finish. Bass is coming off a junior season in which he racked up 74 tackles, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception. He had 49 tackles and two interceptions for East St. Louis as a sophomore.

Bass told Nemec he intends to graduate from high school early and arrive at Missouri in January.

Watch his junior season highlights here: Charles Bass III highlights

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- Nate Latsch |  latsch@scorebooklive.com