Nixa sophomore Jackson Cantwell ranked as the No. 6 football recruit in the country
We've known for a while that Nixa offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell would be one of the top-ranked recruits in the nation once the rankings for his class came out. After 247Sports released its initial rankings on Wednesday, it has been confirmed.
247Sports, one of the top national recruiting outlets in the country, has the Nixa sophomore ranked as the No. 6 player in the 2026 class.
Cantwell, at 6-foot-8, 300 pounds, is the second-ranked offensive lineman, only behind Lamar Brown, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is 6-foot-4, 300 pounds.
No player in the current 2026 rankings is rated as a five-star recruit as Cantwell is initially listed as a four-star prospect. Cantwell holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida State, Oklahoma, Mizzou, Tennessee, Texas A&M and many more.
More: Inside 'the freak show' workout with sophomore Nixa football phenom Jackson Cantwell
An article by 247Sports calls Cantwell "Mr. Olympics" while noting his Olympian parents who both threw for Team USA. The article notes that Cantwell currently ranks 18th nationally amongst all high schoolers in the shot put with a personal best of 64-foot, 3.75-inch toss.
Cantwell started all but two games on the Eagles' offensive line as a freshman. He was pushed into action because of an injury along the offensive front and he hasn't given up his position since.
More: Nixa's 6-foot-8 freshman Jackson Cantwell has Olympian parents, world records and a 33 ACT score
Cantwell is the highest-ranked recruit from southwest Missouri since 2012 when Dorial Green-Beckham was rated as the No. 1 player in the country out of Hillcrest High.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jackson Cantwell: Nixa football sophomore ranked No. 6 in country
