Just because the Missouri Tigers are focused on getting commitments from players in the transfer portal doesn't mean they aren't hard at work building their 2026 class of recruits.

After recruiting three-star weakside defensive end Anthony Kennedy Jr. since his freshman year of high school, the Tigers got his commitment Saturday.

"They make me feel like Missouri is my home," Kennedy said in October.

The 6-foot-6, 280-pound junior defensive lineman from Little Rock (Ark.) Maumelle Senior had visited Columbia five times through the past two seasons.

"I've been so many times," Kennedy said.

Kennedy's only official visit to Columbia is scheduled for April, but he took unofficial visits in October, June and January in 2024 as well as October 2023.

He turned down offers from Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas, SMU, Oklahoma State, USC, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Texas, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Miami, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Oklahoma, TCU, UNLV and LSU, all coming in the past year.

"Really, it feels like home," Anthony Kennedy Sr. said in October. "For the longest, its like it's been a match made in heaven. ... I'll tell you what, Missouri is the first school that ever made my son feel comfortable to even leave the state."