Vanderbilt Lands Four-Star Big Man Jackson Sheffield

Sheffield chose the Commodores over offers from Maryland, Memphis, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, USF and Virginia Tech.  The 6-foot-9 big man was offered by Vanderbilt on July 12, visited on August 30–the day of Vanderbilt football’s opener against Charleston Southern, as well as Mgbako’s visit day–and ultimately made a September commitment to the Commodores’ staff.

Sheffield had Vanderbilt, Alabama and Maryland in for him at Hoover High School on September 5. It appeared as if Buzz Williams and Maryland was the strongest contender to obtain Sheffield's commitment.

He’s ranked as the No. 18 center in the country as well as the No. 2 player in the state of Alabama as well as its No. 1 big man. Sheffield led Hoover High School to a 35-0 record in 2024-25. Sheffield's high school has won the Alabama state championship three seasons in a row.

The Hoover, Alabama, native played for Team Thad on the EYBL circuit over the summer and averaged 5.8 points per game as well as 4.2 rebounds per game.

He’s the second high school big man to commit to Vanderbilt under Byington, the first of which was three-star, class of 2025 big man Jayden Leverett. Sheffield is Byington's fifth high school commit and is the second four-star recruit that he's landed since his Vanderbilt tenure started in the spring of 2024.

“Vanderbilt is committed, and they want to be successful. And that matches my vision,” Byington said at the time. “It’s a great league, and we’re going to find players who aren’t scared of a challenge.”

The Commodores made their first NCAA Tournament since 2018 last season and look to build on it with a returning core of Tyler Nickel, Tyler Tanner and Devin McGlockton. Vanderbilt will inevitably have some departures following the 2025-26 season, but could lean on the 2026 high school class to take it back to the tournament following that group's departure.

Vanderbilt will look to add a few more commitments on top of Mgbako and Sheffield’s before the 2026 freshman class arrives on campus next summer.