Mizzou football earns the commitment of 2026 running back Preston Hatfield. Hatfield rushed for a state record 457 yards in the Missouri Class 6 State Championship game, and is teammates with fellow Mizzou commit Karsten Fiene.
Columbia, Mo. — A busy day for sports in Missouri sports — two football transfer commitments, a back-out and an overtime basketball thriller win — continues into the night.
Missouri has landed the commitment of 2026 running back Preston Hatfield, per his social media.
Hatfield is an unranked running back out of Lee's Summit High School in Lee's Summit, Mo.
Perhaps he should have been ranked, though — Hatfield rushed for a record 457 yards in the Class 6 Missouri State Championship game, breaking a long-standing record previously held by Los Angeles Rams star Kyren Williams.
Hatfield took a visit to and was offered by Missouri on Jan. 17 alongside his high school teammate Karsten Fiene, who committed to the program Jan. 18. Both teammates continue the pipeline of Lee's Summit to Missouri, following the footsteps of Josh Manning (Lee's Summit High School), Cayden Green (Lee's Summit North High School), Armand Membou (LSNHS) and Logan Muckey (LSNHS) to name a few recent players.
Former Missouri Tiger wideout Dominic Gicinto is the wide receivers coach for Hatfield's team at Lee's Summit High School, and played a factor in getting both Hatfield and Fiene to Missouri.
Hatfield is the seventh in-state prospect in the class of 2026 to commit to Missouri. His only other offer was from Missouri Western State, per247sports.
Here's who Hatfield joins in Missouri's 2026 recruiting class:
Gavin Sidwar, QB, 3-star
Maxwell Warner, RB, 3-star
Preston Hatfield, RB
Jabari Brady, WR, 3-star
Devyon Hill-Lomax, WR, 3-star
Karsten Fiene, WR
Isaac Jensen, TE, 3-star
Johnnie Jones, OT, 4-star
Brysen Wessell, OT, 3-Star
Braylon Ellison, IOL, 3-star
Brandon Anderson, IOL, 3-star
Khalief Canty Jr., IOL, 3-star
Tajh Overton, DL, 4-star
Jocques Felix, DL, 3-star
JJ Bush, LB, 4-star
Keenan Harris, LB, 3-star
Ahmod Billins, CB, 3-star
Jaxson Gates, CB, 3-star
Trashundon Neal, CB, 3-star
Jayden McGregory, S, 4-star
Brody Jones, S, 3-star
Carter Stewart, S, 3-star
Hatfield will play a reserve role for the Tigers' room in 2026, and is an early candidate to redshirt the season — there is plenty of talent ahead of him, and the Tigers now roster six running backs.
Here is who makes up Missouri's loaded running backs room for 2026:
Jamal Roberts, RB, redshirt sophomore
Ahmad Hardy, RB, sophomore
Malae Fonoti, RB, redshirt freshman (Montana transfer)
Xai'Shaun Edwards, RB, redshirt freshman (Houston Christian transfer)
Maxwell Warner, RB, incoming freshman
Preston Hatfield, RB, incoming freshman
To keep up with every Missouri high school commitment, incoming and outgoing transfer and coaching staff change, follow along with our 2026 offseason tracker here:
