Freshmen To Watch
In this article:
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! At this time next week, it’ll be game week! We’re now one week away from the 2022 season kicking off. Week zero will get us started…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!
At this time next week, it’ll be game week! We’re now one week away from the 2022 season kicking off. Week zero will get us started next week and we’ll wrap up in December with state championships in Edmond. Over the last two months, we’ve been putting up in-depth preview content every single day. From team previews, to preseason rankings and all state teams to class by class previews. In this post, we take a look at five 2026 prospects that you need to know before their high school careers begin! These five have already emerged as prospects to watch and they have four years of high school ball ahead of them. Some of them have already received college offers while others are from very athletic bloodlines. We saw plenty of freshmen have strong seasons in 2021. Who ends up being the top freshman in 2022?
Braeden Presley Braeden Presley 6'0" | ATH Bixby | 2026 State OK – Athlete – Bixby
There’s another Presley heading to the high school level at Bixby and Spartan opponents have to be shaking their heads at this point. First, it was Brennan Presley that terrorized defenses, then Braylin Presley became one of the best players in the state and graduated in 2022. Both are now at OSU and younger brother Braeden is ready to become the next impact Presley to wear the Bixby blue and red. What’s scary is Braeden is already bigger than Braylin and he’s coming off a middle school run where he was flat out dominant. Only time will tell how ready he is for the high school level as the Spartans make the move up to 6A-1. However, we would be fools to think he’s going to spend this entire fall on the bench. We think that he’ll get into some games, get his feet wet and then who knows what happens from there.
Colton Yarbrough Colton Yarbrough 6'5" | 210 lbs | DL Durant | 2026 State OK – Defensive Lineman – Durant
The first 2026 prospect in Oklahoma to earn a D1 offer was defensive lineman Colton Yarbrough Colton Yarbrough 6'5" | 210 lbs | DL Durant | 2026 State OK . This offseason, he moved to Durant after previously being at Caddo. Before he even entered high school, Yarbrough already earned offers from Power Five schools and he did so while being a student at Caddo, an 8-man program. We bring that up to say that if you can play at that level, it doesn’t matter where you are, coaches will find you. Yarbrough is now at Durant and expects to be an impact player right away for the Lions. Durant was boosted this offseason when they had two massive move ins to their program with Yarbrough and 2024 defensive lineman XaDavien Sims XaDavien Sims 6'4" | 275 lbs | DL Durant | 2024 State OK . You can make the argument that the Lions have the top prospects in the state’s 2024 and 2026 classes and unfortunately for Durant’s opponents, both are on the defensive line.
Conner Quintero Conner Quintero 6'0" | 180 lbs | QB Oklahoma | 2026 State OK – Quarterback – Stillwater
Our next 2026 prospect to watch is Stillwater quarterback Conner Quintero Conner Quintero 6'0" | 180 lbs | QB Oklahoma | 2026 State OK . Like Yarbrough, Quintero has already established himself as one of the top prospects at his position not only in Oklahoma, but in this part of the country. Quintero moved from Enid to Stillwater and will back up 2023 quarterback Gage Gundy Gage Gundy 6'3" | 200 lbs | QB Stillwater | 2023 State OK this fall. But Quintero is without a doubt the top quarterback in this class and has already earned offers because of it. He might not see as much playing time this year because of Gundy being QB1, but Quintero will make the most of his opportunities when he does get in games this fall. And moving forward, he’s going to be a name to watch at the quarterback position. We’ve seen Quintero throw the ball quite a bit this offseason and he’s the real deal.
Evenson Malaska Evenson Malaska 6'0" | DB Bethany | 2026 State OK – Athlete – Bethany
Bethany is going from one standout Malaska to another potential one in the 2026 class. Evenson Malaska Evenson Malaska 6'0" | DB Bethany | 2026 State OK has already earned some reps at the varsity level and is expected to be a player for the Bronchos over the next few seasons on the offensive side of the ball. Older brother Jocelyn Malaska has been a standout for Bethany for the last several years and is now a freshman at Utah. He became one of the better defensive back prospects in the state’s 2022 class but younger brother Evenson looks to be more of an offensive playmaker. Malaska already earned his spot on this list before fall camp began but the reports after the first week of practice is that he’s ready to be an impact player this season. Whether it’s at running back, wide receiver or anywhere else on the field, expect the Malaska name to continue tormenting Bethany opponents.
KD Jones KD Jones 6'0" | 170 lbs | ATH Jenks | 2026 State OK – Running Back – Broken Arrow
And our final 2026 prospect to watch is another freshman that already has an advantage when you consider his DNA. Broken Arrow running back KD Jones KD Jones 6'0" | 170 lbs | ATH Jenks | 2026 State OK is the son of former Jenks star running back Kejuan Jones, who played college ball at Oklahoma. We got a chance to see a limited sample of Jones this offseason when Broken Arrow participated in Owasso’s team camp and he looked like the real deal already. The coaches at Broken Arrow are also excited about the potential with Jones moving forward. The Tigers have experience returning at the running back position but adding a talented player like Jones will certainly help the Tigers with their playmaking and just adding overall depth. And the first time Jones breaks a long run, it is a MUST that the broadcaster says “Somebody better catch him!” Oklahoma high school football fans know what we’re talking about.