Missouri football adds Ole Miss WR Cayden Lee out of transfer portal
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Rebel Rebel, that’s three from Ole Miss.
Cayden Lee, a wide receiver who was one of the Rebels’ primary wide receivers in its run to the College Football Playoff semifinals, has committed to play for Missouri football in 2026. Lee brings much-needed experience as a slot receiver to the Tigers, and he might be the final addition to Mizzou’s offense this offseason.
The news was first reported by Hayes Fawcett at On3, and his report was reposted by the Missouri football team account.
This news has been tipped and teased for the past few days, especially through the social media channels of new Mizzou quarterback (and fellow Ole Miss transfer) Austin Simmons.
Simmons and Lee are reportedly good friends, and within five minutes of the news first emerging that Lee was weighing entering the transfer portal, Simmons had posted a smiling-face emoji to his X/Twitter account.
Later, the quarterback posted a photo of ‘Honeycomb’ cereal to his Instagram story. ‘Honeycomb’ is Lee’s nickname.
Now, as of Saturday, Jan. 24, his friend and offensive weapon is joining the QB in Columbia, adding a major playmaker to Mizzou’s arsenal in 2026.
Lee is listed at, 5 foot 11, 180 pounds, by the Rebels and is from Kennesaw, Georgia. He appeared in all 15 of Ole Miss’s games in the 2025 season, which included its full CFP run.
He caught 44 passes on 64 total targets, mostly lining up in the slot, and totaled 632 receiving yards and three touchdown catches in 2025. A year earlier in the 2024 season, with Jaxson Dart as Ole Miss’s QB, Lee caught 57 passes for 874 yards and two touchdowns.
Per Pro Football Focus’ accounting, Lee only has two dropped balls in 144 career-targets. Of those 1,620 career-receiving yards, 649 have been after the catch.
Mizzou needed wide receivers in this transfer window, and it has now landed five of them.
Missouri is losing starting slot receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. to eligibility, and fellow starters Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning have transferred to Mississippi State and Kansas State, respectively. The Tigers also are losing Xavier Loyd and Logan Muckey to graduation, and reserves Daniel Blood and James Madison II also hit the portal.
That meant the only returner with significant offensive reps under their belt was standout freshman Donovan Olugbode, who is expected to play a feature role on the MU offense next season.
The Tigers have also landed four other transfer wide receivers, with Cincinnati speedster Caleb Goodie and former Auburn and Wake Forest veteran Horatio Fields the likeliest other core members of the pass-catching rotation.
Mizzou also added Florida freshman Naeshaun Montgomery and Minnesota backup Kenric Lanier II with the potential to play the position next season.
Now, Lee is joining the group.
He is the 29th transfer Missouri has added this month, and three of those players have now come from Ole Miss. The Tigers have added Simmons, and starting Mississippi corner Chris Graves Jr. committed to Eli Drinkwitz’s earlier in the week.
The transfer portal closed for most new entries on Jan. 16, with some exceptions for teams whose seasons ended late because of playoff runs. That deadline also is only for new entries. As long as players submitted their paperwork by that date, they can still sign for a new team at essentially any time.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football makes headline portal add with Ole Miss WR Cayden Lee
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