Illinois State WR transfer Xavier Loyd signs with Missouri

Former Illinois State wide receiver Xavier Loyd has signed with Missouri out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. He began his career playing for Kansas State.

Loyd appeared in one game for Kansas State as a true freshman in 2023, a 45-0 win against SEMO in September. He would transfer at the end of that season, finding a temporary home at Illinois State where he’d go on to have a breakout season in 2024.

He caught 66 passes for 912 yards and six touchdowns during his lone season with the Redbirds. His best performance came against Murray State on the road. He caught five passes for a whopping 148 yards. Surprisingly in that game, he didn’t score a touchdown despite his career-high receiving numbers.

That performance capped a three-week stretch where Loyd amassed 334 receiving yards and a touchdown — his best stretch of the season. He also ended the year scoring in three straight matchups, including the team’s first-round FCS playoff game against, ironically, SEMO, the one team he played against during his time as a Kansas State Wildcat.

Before college, Loyd was rated as a three-star recruit according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was slated as the No. 2,507 overall recruit, as well as the No. 361 wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Based on his performance during the 2025 season, he has surpassed that initial recruiting grade. Now, Loyd is set to join a Missouri Tigers squad that is coming off consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 2013-2014. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz is set to begin his sixth season as head coach of the program.

Missouri will begin its season at home against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28, with a special Thursday kickoff inside Memorial Stadium. They will begin conference play in the SEC against the South Carolina Gamecocks at home on Sept. 20.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.