The 2025 season is yet to pull up the curtains, but the 2026 class is already making the headlines. Class of 2026 five-star cornerback Brandon Arrington is headed to the SEC after announcing his highly anticipated commitment on Thursday, June 19. The Mount Miguel High School, Spring Valley product ranks as the No.1 cornerback in the country.
Arrington is now headed to Texas A&M as he confirmed his commitment to Mike Elko’s squad. But till the last minute, he had kept his suitors at the edge of their seats. His final list includes Alabama, USC, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Penn State. On June 14, Arrington tried to stir the pot a little by dropping a cryptic message. He shared a video on his IG story, and he was spotted with Alabama’s 18-year-old phenom, Ryan Williams. In the clip, Arrington was heard saying, “Yes, Sir. Roll Tide,” while Williams vibes to the chant in the background, accompanied by the tag, “@RYANWMS1 .”
Turns out that it was a planned Ryan Williams hype up session as Arrington finally hooked his boat to the Aggies’ dock. And right after stepping into his new program, the cornerback came with another cryptic message. This time for his fellow 2026 recruit, Jackson Cantwell, who has committed to the Miami Hurricanes. As Cantwell hits a new milestone, Arrington becomes one of his biggest cheerleaders. Re-sharing USATF’s video featuring Cantwell, Arrington wrote, “Yk where u supposed to be @jcantwell2499 .” But what made Cantwell reel in all this hype?
Well, the 5-star offensive tackle had already made a name by winning Class 5 state titles in both the shot put and discus at the 2025 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships – and coming just 1 centimeter shy of breaking a national high school outdoor record that has stood since 1979. Even though his participation at the Nike Outdoor Nationals was expected to be a “likely” situation, he made it into it. However, he didn’t get the record, but his feat was enough to make his teammates from other teams, like Arrington, go gaga over it.
Cantwell won the U20 national championship in the shot put at the USA Track and Field U20 competition at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. He became the youngest competitor in the 6 kilogram shot category as he launched his winning throw 69 feet, 8 inches on his fifth attempt to take the title. In this process, he has beaten Ethan Thomas, a North Dakota freshman and former Grand Forks Central standout. Maybe, Cantwell hitting this milestone feels like a personal win for Arrington.
The 2026 class just got faster, thanks to Brandon Arrington
Not many know that Arrington brings more than just football skills with him. As the 247 Sports scouting report reads, “Two-Sport standout and one of the fastest sprinters in the country. Has personal best times of 10.43-100m and 20.76-200m as a sophomore and could easily double sport in college.” In April, Arrington became the hero of the Arcadia Invitational. From Olympic hopefuls to state champions, Arcadia is where legends are born and records are rewritten.
He had himself an absolute monster of a day, winning both the 100 and 200-meter races. The numbers have been heroic. In the 100, he set the 3rd fastest time in meet history with a 10.32, only winning by .01 of a second. Arrington carried his powers to the 200-meter race as well. And the end result? He shattered Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles’ meet record of 20.49 as he ran a blistering 20.35, standing his ground as the nation’s fastest 200-meter runner.
With this, Brandon Arrington solidified his status as the nation’s fastest 200-meter runner. While he hypes up Jackson Cantwell for his success, he kept himself grounded during his victory speech. On X, he wrote, “Blessed to get a award for winning the 100m and breaking Noah Lyle’s old 200m record at the Arcadia invitational thank you @ArcadiaInvite.” With all this dual-sport firepower, the Class of 2026 is shaping up to be nothing short of elite.
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