Top-Ranked 2026 Prospect Includes Mizzou Football in Final 6 Schools

The Missouri Tigerrs were included in the final six schools for five-star and first-ranked 2026 football prospect Jackson Cantwell. He's widely considered one of the best recruits in the class.

BREAKING: Five-Star Plus+ OT Jackson Cantwell is down to 6 Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’8 315 OT from Nixa, MO is ranked as the No. 1 Recruit in the ‘26 Class (per On3 Industry)

Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/jqOcsEYc5A pic.twitter.com/AcQV81jvLW
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 2, 2025

According to 247Sports, Cantwell is the No. 1 player in the country in composite rankings. The Nixa, Mo. native holds offers from all of the best teams in the country and included Georgia, Michigan, Miami, Ohio State and Oregon, alongside the Tigers, in his final schools.

Landing another five-star Missourian would be huge for the Tigers. He's the son of a Missouri athletics legacy, Christian Cantwell, who was an Olympian shotputter and a member of the Missouri athletics Hall of Fame. His mother, Teri Steer-Cantwell, was also an Olympian shotputter.

Cantwell stands at 6-foot-7.5, 300-pound and is one of the best athletes in the class. Cantwell himself is a shotputter and is one of the best high school ones in the nation. He's earned national honors in the event.

He also participated in this year's Under Armour All-American Game. If there's been a national honor so far for the 2026 recruiting class, Cantwell's probably been a part of it or earned it.

Cantwell's been on multiple visits and has been visited by multiple head coaches. He was in Columbia to see a basketball game when the Tigers defeated No. 16 Ole Miss and has been in Columbia plenty of times beforehand in the football season. He was also recently visited by Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day.

The Tigers have landed multiple five-star prospects in the country from the state of Missouri in Williams Nwaneri, Luther Burden and Dorial Green-Beckham, among others. Continuing the trend of keeping those players in the state of Missouri would be another huge recruiting win for the Tigers.

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