Bolivar, Mo. – SBU Bearcat football, led by Head Coach Paul Hansen, is excited to announce the 2026 signing class. This year they welcome 47 new signees to the Bearcat family that are represented across six different States. Of these future Bearcats, 16 were named to their respective All-State team.

"This is my first recruiting class since taking over at SBU," says Head Coach Paul Hansen. "Going into this recruiting season, we wanted to recruit more depth and speed. This class is very athletic and can make a major impact on our team. This is the most All-State players my staff has signed in a single class. That just goes to show you how hard our staff worked to find the very best student-athletes."
 
Defensively, there are several key signees that will add depth to a unit that returns six starters. Linebacker Jordan Brunnert (Carthage, MO) looks to be a key signee as he was named the Missouri Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year and 1^st-team all-state.  Dante Dixon (Kansas City, MO), a Defensive Back, was a Missouri Class 6A 3x all-state selection and won the Andre Maloney Award, which goes to the top defensive back in the Greater Kansas City Area. "Look for Cody Adkinson, Jack Gebel and Josiah Stevens to add size and speed to our defense" adds Hansen.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bearcats signed Missouri Class 5A All-State Quarterback Cooper Owen. In his senior season, Owen threw for over 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns, showing his strong capability as a future Bearcat. "Cooper throws a great football and I'm excited for him to come in and compete."  Another key signee looks to be All-State running back Victor Williams, who averaged over 14 yards a carry his senior year. "He is very electric and I'm excited to see him score a lot of touchdowns."  Other strong recruits include wide receivers Xavier Morrison (6'4), Marcus Rhoden (6'3) and tight end(TE) Camden Cooper (6'6) to add great size to our skill positions.  Some local talent includes TE Lucas Pock (6'3) who will add great athleticism to the tight end room.  "I love having great local talent on our team. We will build our championship team with local players like Lucas Pock (Bolivar, MO), JJ Huskisson JR. (Willard, MO), Sawyer Morris (Mountain View, MO), Tevin Christian (Springfield, MO), and Parker Kiebach (Springfield, MO)."

"Overall, I am very satisfied with this recruiting class. Our staff worked very hard to get great players who fit SBU. We signed 30 kids from Missouri and we will continue to recruit great local talent, " says Hansen. "The future of SBU Football is strong!"

A full list of signees can be found below. These new Bearcats, the returning Bearcats, and the strong coaching staff will open the 2026 season home at Plaster Stadium, August 27^th vs William Woods University at 6:00 p.m.
 

Cody Adkinson	6'1	225	LB	Center High School	Center, TX
Joel Beshore	5'11	175	DB	Lamar High School	Lamar, MO
Zane Bone	6'0	225	LB	Eureka High School	Wildwood, MO
Makhi Bruce	6'2	190	DB	Ritenour High School	St. Louis
Jamar Burton	5'9	160	WR	Arlington High School	Arlington, TX
Jayce Byers	6'0	170	WR	Kingwood High School	Kingwood, TX
Oscar Chatman	6'2	285	DL	Hazelwood East High School	St. Louis, MO
Tony Chery	5'9	185	RB	Liberty North High School	Liberty, MO
Tevin Christian	6'0	175	WR	Kickapoo High School	Nixa, MO
Camden Cooper	6'6	210	TE	Liberty (Lake St. Louis) High School	Wentzville, MO
Brandon Davis	5'9	180	WR	MidAmerica Nazarene	Springfield, MO
Dante Dixon	5'11	171	DB	Park Hill High School	Kansas City, MO
Aiden Dunn	6'1	270	OL	Troy Buchanan High School	Troy, MO
Jordan Brunnert	6'2	205	LB	Carthage High School	Carthage, MO
Hudson Ferralez	6'2	205	QB	Hutchinson Community College	Sedgwick, KS
Jack Gebel	6'2	270	DL	Lafayette High School	Wildwood, MO
Jy'Ren Green	6'0	180	RB	Fort Zumwalt West High School	O'Fallon, MO
Keone Harrison	5'9	160	DB	Raytown High School	Raytown, MO
Ashton Haynes	5'11	245	DL	Klein Cain High School	Spring, TX
Jaden Hines	6'1	215	LB	Lee's Summit North High School	Lake lotawana, MO
Jamal Hollister	6'1	185	WR	Aledo High School	Willow Park, TX
JJ Huskisson Jr.	6'0	180	WR	Willard High School	Springfield, MO
Jett Johnson	6'0	175	DB	Parkway West High School	Chesterfield, MO
Wesley Jones	6'2	205	DB	Blue Springs High School	Kansas City, MO
Max Kates	5'10	170	DB	Lee's Summit H.S.	Lee's Summit, MO
Ashdyn Kahouch	5'10	175	WR	Oklahoma State	Frisco, TX
Parker Kiebach	6'4	260	OL	Kickapoo High School	Springfield, MO
Kaden Lackey	6'0	185	DB	Klein Collins High School	Spring, TX
Matthias Martin	5'11	185	LB	Crowley High School	Fort Worth, TX
Ben Maskell	6'0	215	DL	Fort Zumwalt West High School	O'Fallon, MO
Marqies Mitchell	6'4	330	OL	Rock Bridge High School	Columbia, MO
Aymen Mohammed	6'3	240	DL	Francis Howell Central High School	Saint Peters, MO
Sawyer Morris	6'3	195	WR	Mountain View Liberty	Mountain View, MO
Xavier Morrison	6'4	185	WR	Francis Howell Central High School	Saint Peters, MO
Nathan Muaka	6'2	225	DL	Concordia Lutheran School	Tomball, TX
Stephen Murrary	5'9	150	WR	William Woods	Imperial, NE
Gavin Nash	5'10	170	WR	Blue Springs South	Kansas City, MO
Cooper Owens	6'2	180	QB	Kirkwood High School	Saint Peters, MO
Elijah Phiri	6'3	200	K	Republic High School	Battlefield, MO
Sasha Pichnenko	5'11	185	WR	Paola High School	Paola, KS
Lucas Pock	6'3	220	TE	Bolivar High School	Bolivar, MO
Jack Purdie	5'9	170	K	Metro Christian Academy	Tulsa, OK
Marcus Rhoden	6'3	185	WR	Sachse High School	Sachse, TX
Daniel Robinson	5'10	160	WR	Neuqua Valley High School	Plainfield, IL
Talan Rowland	5'9	195	LB	Troy Buchanan High School	Troy, MO
Ryan Skwira	5'11	180	DB	St. Dominic High School	Dardenne Prairie, MO
EJ Smith	6'0	170	DB	Edwardsville High School	Edwardsville, IL
Saul Spurgeon	6'5	350	OL	Madonna University	Springfield, MO
Josiah Stevens	6'2	220	LB	Mustang High School	Yukon, OK
Jordan Waddle	6'3	190	WR	Lamar Consolidated	Richmond, TX
Cordell Washington	6'1	190	RB	Thayer High School	Thayer, MO
Timothy Washington	5'10"	165	WR	Lafayette High School	Wildwood, MO
Bryson Whitman	5'10	170	DB	Hollister High School	Hollister, MO
Vic WIlliams	5'7	165	RB	Christian Brothers College High School	St. Louis, MO