COLUMBIA, Mo. — With school more or less out for the summer, it’s time for high school recruiting to take the stage.
Recruiting matters less in college football, arguably, than it ever has before. Players’ and coaches’ permitted and prolific use of the transfer portal make it decreasingly likely that the school a recruit signs with is a school he’ll ever star for — and that’s without factoring in decommitments and flips ahead of signing day.
But still, for a roughly monthlong span between the end of the school year and the start of the preseason, recruiting becomes a focus. Over the next few weekends, Missouri will join its peers in hosting a wave of high school prospects for official visits.
Given that recruits are limited in how many official visits they can take, those who come through Columbia in the next month have at least some concrete interest in playing for the Tigers someday. There are usually a handful who commit quickly after a successful official visit.
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Mizzou currently has two verbal commitments in the 2026 recruiting cycle: Three-star quarterback Gavin Sidwar, who hails from Pennsylvania, committed back in April. SLUH star Keenan Harris, rated a three-star as a projected linebacker, committed last week.
That leaves plenty of spots to fill for coach Eli Drinkwitz and company, given that MU is expected to sign 15-20 recruits.
And while it’s hard to discern which players will wind up signing where at this point in the cycle — signing day is still six months away — here are five recruits to know ahead of Mizzou’s official visits:
Nick Hankins, cornerback
Hankins, rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports, plays his high school ball across the river for Belleville West. He recently posted the final set of five schools he’s considering: MU, Illinois, Tennessee, Iowa and Mississippi.
Of that group, though, only the Tigers, Illini and Volunteers will get official visits. Missouri is first up for him this weekend.
Drinkwitz already has one cornerback from the Illinois side of the metro on his roster in Cahokia’s Nicholas Deloach Jr.
Bennett Fraser, offensive line
Mizzou lost out on five-star offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell but is very much in the mix for the second-best O-line recruit in the state: Fraser, who hails from Kirksville. He’s a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, listed at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds.
As an in-state player, he’s been around MU before. Still, he’ll take an official visit to campus June 20. Kansas State is the only other school Fraser is currently scheduled to visit.
Mason James, wide receiver
Missouri and Oklahoma have traded some recruitment barbs in recent years, and James could be the next frontier for that fight. He’s from Norman, Oklahoma, and the Sooners are in the mix. But so are the Tigers, and Mizzou gets his first official visit.
James is a four-star wideout ranked by 247Sports as the No. 2 player in Oklahoma. In addition to MU and OU, he’ll take official visits to Texas and Washington. James has said he plans to announce his commitment June 25.
Jabari Brady, wide receiver
Could this be another Tigers-Sooners battle? At the moment, Missouri is the only official visit on the calendar for Brady, a three-star receiver from Pompano Beach, Florida. He took an unofficial visit to Columbia back in March.
Recently, though, both Oklahoma and Michigan have extended him offers, which could set up an interesting summer for his recruitment.
Jordan Campbell, linebacker
Campbell has verbally committed to Miami, but that’s not keeping him from taking four official visits this summer — nor keeping other schools from feeling like they have a chance at a flip.
He’s a four-star prospect from Opa Locka, Florida, who could wind up at either linebacker or defensive end, depending on the system and his development.
Campbell committed to the Hurricanes back in November 2023, when Derek Nicholson was the program’s linebackers coach. Nicholson is now holding down the same position at Mizzou, though, and trying to convince Campbell to follow suit.
In addition to Miami and Missouri, Campbell will also visit Auburn and Nebraska.
