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Cincinnati Bearcats Football Finishes With Top 55 2026 Recruiting Class Nationally
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield walks the field during football practice at Sheakley Athletic Performance Center in Cincinnati on Dec. 18, 2025. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

 The dust has officially settled on the Class of 2026 football recruiting rankings. Cincinnati stayed mostly static in the rankings comparing 2025 to 2026, slotting around the 50-65 range nationally on most rankings.

Cincinnati signed 24 players in total, led by nine from Ohio and four from Alabama. They added six offensive linemen and four defensive linemen to go with five defensive backs.

Check out where the class ranks on the major recruiting services:

247Sports: 56th

Rivals/On3: 45th

ESPN: 56th

Average: 52.3 Nationally

The Bearcats will try to develop and boost the talents of an almost entirely three-star laden class. Indiana just pulled off elite talent development to power a National Championship run, so the example is there for Cincinnati to follow.

UC will pair these recruits with another 22 transfers to field a pretty different team this coming fall.

"Nine days. 30 Official Visits. 22 Signees. Coaches, Recruiting, AT, S&C, Nutrition, Academics, Compliance, Contracts, Legal, Creative, EQ, Ops, Admin. To be efficient in the Portal, it takes everyone. Extremely proud of the work of these men and women. The Bearcats got better!" Cincinnati general manager Zach Grant posted on X last month.

The Bearcats are currently being led by director of football sport performance Niko Palazeti during the offseason training program before getting back on the field in March for spring practices.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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