An early look at the Big 12 football recruiting rankings for the class of 2026

USA Today

01-04-2025

An early look at the Big 12 football recruiting rankings for the class of 2026
With spring games and summer fast approaching, the class of 2026 recruiting cycle is about to heat up.
The Big 12 only had one team land a top-25 class last recruiting cycle, with TCU coming in at No. 24 on 247Sports Composite. Kansas State, Baylor, Colorado and Utah all came in the top 40. The conference does not feature many recruiting powerhouses like the SEC or Big Ten, with most teams hovering around the No. 50 ranked recruiting class instead of vying for a top-25 class.
It is still extremely early in the 2026 cycle, but one Big 12 team is in the top five of the national rankings. The team might surprise many, but it is definitely on an upward trajectory.
Colorado is, interestingly enough, the only team without a commitment in its 2026 class. Expect that to change this month, with recruits committing soon after the Buffaloes' April 19 spring game. Otherwise, there isn't much to take away from programs like Kansas State and Utah sitting near last place in the rankings, as some schools like the Buffs have yet to start putting a class together. These updates will be far more critical come the summer when programs expect more commitments.
With the acknowledgment that these rankings will quickly change, here is an early glimpse at the Big 12 class of 2026 team recruiting rankings as determined by 247Sports:
1. Kansas Jayhawks
National ranking: 5
Total commits: 13
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 2
National ranking: 22
Total commits: 9
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
3. TCU Horned Frogs
National ranking: 24
Total commits: 8
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 2
National ranking: 25
Total commits: 6
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 2
5. Texas Tech Red Raiders
National ranking: 28
Total commits: 7
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 33
Total commits: 5
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 1
National ranking: 35
Total commits: 5
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 3
National ranking: 36
Total commits: 5
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 44
Total commits: 4
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 60
Total commits: 3
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 64
Total commits: 7
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 65
Total commits: 2
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: 76
Total commits: 1
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
14. UCF Knights
National ranking: 79
Total commits: 4
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
15. Utah Utes
National ranking: 85
Total commits: 1
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
National ranking: N/A
Total commits: 0
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads, and Instagram.
Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.