Offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, the nation’s highest-rated overall player in the Class of 2026, will head to Coral Gables, Fla., to join the Miami Hurricanes, he announced during a Tuesday ceremony.
A five-star prospect out of Nixa High School in Missouri, Cantwell stands as the highest-rated offensive lineman in the modern recruiting era and is ranked No. 1 overall in the 247Sports composite rankings. He’s No. 3 in the country and tops at his position and in his state, according to 247Sports’ own rankings, and No. 3 overall in the 2026 ESPN 300. He selected the Hurricanes over the likes of Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State.
“I think relationships won out in the end,” Cantwell said after his announcement, citing tight relationships built with various Miami coaches over the past year, including head coach Mario Cristobol and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal.
“We’ve talked so much about offensive line development, what my potential there is at the U, and I think their history with guys like Penei Sewell, Francis Mauigoa and some of those guys from recent (memory), I just feel like it’s a place I can develop and be something great.”
Listed at 6-foot-7 1/2 and 325 pounds, Cantwell represents Miami’s first top-100 prospect — and 10th overall commit — for the Class of 2026.
ESPN reported that the Hurricanes offered him a multiyear NIL package valued at more than $2 million a year.
Cantwell also is an elite track and field athlete in the discus and shot and could continue in that sport in college. His parents are former Olympian shot-putters — Christian Cantwell, a silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games, and Teri Steer.
–Field Level Media
