North Dakota 2026 Rankings Preview

NORTH DAKOTA-- As we unleash our first ever North Dakota rankings for the 2026 class, we breakdown to those newcomers to PRZ Dakotas what our evaluation process looks like, take a look at some of the hotbed schools in North Dakota in our 2026 class and much more!   Our PRZ Prospect Evaluation Process:   Our #1 priority and goal with Prep Redzone is to put prospects on the map for college coaches and college programs at all levels to advance their exposure. We rate prospects on next-level potential not stats, not on the team's rankings in the state, it's all about the prospects potential and how his skillsets fit at the next level. All prospects will need to have tape available or have been referred to us by our anonymous sources throughout the state. Some prospects will peak early in their high school career and that's why our rankings change 3-4 times per year at Prep Redzone Dakotas, because we also love to factor in several live evaluations year-around and we have seen prospects within a 3 month span add 30 pounds of muscle and a couple inches of height, while others stay the same. That is our process with every rankings update for those of you that are new to us!   What Changed Since the Last 2026 Update?   To those of you that are new to Prep Redzone Dakotas, we shifted a few months back to state by state model within our site as far as rankings go however, the content model stayed the same. We felt that this was the best way to individually rank prospects from each state versus stacking prospects from North Dakota vs. South Dakota. The original list we created months ago, was just a 2026 watchlist whose prospects were not ranked as of yet, but our watchlist shows off which prospects caught our early eyes from their tape they showed off as freshmen. We feel that it was best to wait for more prospects to get more tape out to give an even better analysis of who the best of the best prospects are now in North Dakota now that they have at least one year of high school football under their belt.   Meet the Top Five:   #5: [player_tooltip player_id='533097' first='Israel' last='Bauer'], DB/WR, West Fargo Horace <a href="https://twitter.com/israel_bauer2">Twitter</a>   #4: [player_tooltip player_id='674795' first='Tayton' last='Giggee'], RB, Mandan   #3: [player_tooltip player_id='674796' first='Layton' last='Giggee'], DL, Mandan   #2: [player_tooltip player_id='674788' first='Braxton' last='Dahl'], OL, Bismarck Century <a href="https://twitter.com/Bdahl34">Twitter</a>   #1: [player_tooltip player_id='675358' first='Evan' last='Wiersma'], OL, Central Cass   Which North Dakota HS Programs Made the Most Noise in the 2026 Class?   Mandan (5):   The Mandan Braves made in my eyes the biggest splash with this new North Dakota 2026 class. With two prospects that just happen to be brothers in our top five in [player_tooltip player_id='674795' first='Tayton' last='Giggee'] (RB, #4 overall) and [player_tooltip player_id='674796' first='Layton' last='Giggee'] (DL, #3 overall) the Braves also had three more prospects within our top 40. [player_tooltip player_id='674793' first='Braiden' last='Bosch'] is another intriguing LB/TE prospect, as his skillsets paint more at tight end at this given moment, but from what I saw from his linebacker tape there is plenty of instinct that this young man plays with that the next-level will look into in the coming years. The Braves also added two more prospects to our watch list in OL Trayden Mildenberger and WR [player_tooltip player_id='674798' first='Caden' last='Schirado'] who both have limited tape, however there is some upside there yet to be seen as we look into this upcoming season.   Fargo Davies (5)   The Eagles remain consistent when I evaluate them class by class each year since we launched the site in 2020. [player_tooltip player_id='674790' first='Christopher' last='Kiepea'] is the first prospect on our rankings at #16 overall, as this kid shows off solid durability thru contact and has sound field vision especially in the Eagle's return game as this young man showed continuously on tape he could turn a nothing play into something quickly upfield. The prospect I feel has the most upside from the Eagles 2026 class is OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='669333' first='Jake' last='Kingzett']. On tape, Jake shows off some raw skillsets, but with a good frame at 6'0 225 pounds, I like the strength he shows off early with his hands as well as his pad-level on both sides of the line. Jake also caught my eyes for how his instinct lines up after his rep with his football IQ. Next up for Fargo Davies is athlete [player_tooltip player_id='674792' first='Kolten' last='Tesch']. Kolten has extremely light tape that is seen, but he shows off a good trigger with his release with his first step with the ball in his hands and will need to develop more strength in the coming years getting yards thru contact. Two watch list prospects I expect to rise into ranked prospects are linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='674791' first='Alex' last='Meece'] and [player_tooltip player_id='669334' first='Gus' last='Werremeyer']. Alex shows off a feisty trigger with the release with his first steps and already has solid measurables for the linebacker position at 6'0 190 pounds, that I hope to gauge more tape onto into the 2023 season. [player_tooltip player_id='669334' first='Gus' last='Werremeyer'] is the little brother of NDSU fullback Truman Werremeyer (2021 class) and although he does not have any tape yet, look for him to be a name to know in the coming years.   West Fargo Horace (4)   The West Fargo Horace Hawks are a football program that I feel is on the rise with the upcoming 2023 season. They have our DB1 in #5 overall prospect in [player_tooltip player_id='533097' first='Israel' last='Bauer'], who was one of the most intriguing 2026 prospects I have evaluated at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Fargo last winter. Israel has some agility of note with his footwork and shows off quick instincts with his change of direction to get to the ball carrier quickly into the first level of the field. Also inside our top 10 in 2026 for the Hawks is athlete [player_tooltip player_id='533105' first='Ty' last='Geray'], who on both sides of the ball plays with well-balanced instincts as a pass-catcher on deep routes and has fluid vision and quick hands to get off blocks quickly. The third Hawks prospect in our top 15 is athlete [player_tooltip player_id='477496' first='Jaxon' last='Narum'] who has a steady knack for finding the football consistently and despite not being the biggest kid on the field, has a quick release getting off blocks in and around the ball carrier defensively.   Bismarck Legacy (3)   The Bismarck Legacy Sabers had one of the deepest 2025 classes in North Dakota in our last update and remain steady in their 2026 class, especially in their receiving core with two prospects within the top 11 in North Dakota. The first Sabers wide receiver that popped out on tape is [player_tooltip player_id='929961' first='Makiya' last='Berryhill'] (#6) who popped out on his first clip with what looks like good length and burst off the top of his routes and has a good-sized catch radius and I always love a young wide receiver that can adjust like Makiya does back to the ball. Makiya's tape might be under a minute long, but with what he shows in those first two clips is what put him as WR1 in our 2026 class. Our WR2 also hails from Bismarck Legacy in [player_tooltip player_id='929960' first='Yusuf' last='Jama'] who I got my first look at the NDSU prospect camp this summer as he was one of my several standouts from the 600+ prospects in attendance in Fargo, showing off his elusive first step and had consistent agility that caught my eyes on crossing routes and showed off some glued in hands from his 1v1 reps at NDSU. Rounding out the Sabers in our top 40 was running back [player_tooltip player_id='929963' first='Wyatt' last='Boone']. Wyatt shows off some long-strides that show longer than his 5'11 155 pound measurables he shows off on tape. He also has plenty of speed to back up those long-strides consistently.   Bismarck Century (3)   Last year's 11AA runners up from the Bismarck Century Patriots have three prospects in our 2026 class and two out of the three prospects landed inside our initial top 10. The first Patriot to land on our rankings was OL [player_tooltip player_id='674788' first='Braxton' last='Dahl'] who at 6'2 250 pounds already, looks like the next Patriots offensive linemen that you will see playing on Saturdays due to his smooth first step and shows off an OL prospect that can multi-engage and consistently gets into the second level with his drive blocking ability with his outstanding leverage. The second Patriots prospect inside our top 10 lines up on the other side of the ball at defensive back is [player_tooltip player_id='929957' first='Xander' last='Hanson']. Xander has a well-versed football IQ in my eyes and is persistently in the right spot at the right time whether in pass coverage or defending the run and adds fluid bases of physicality when he makes contact with the ball carrier. Century's [player_tooltip player_id='674789' first='Alex' last='Pedersen'] also cracked our 2026 class rankings as one of either state classes only specialist thus far.   What's Next with the 2026 North Dakota Rankings Released?   Content will flow between both Dakotas daily over the next week or two from each of these groups of article series:   Small Town Sleepers: Which North Dakota prospects from cities under 5000 people have the best football skillsets in North Dakota? With the Roughrider State, you will find a ton in the coming weeks with this series.   Position Breakdowns: We will breakdown why we ranked each prospect in their rankings spot they are in and what they could potentially do to move up during future updates.   Stockrisers: Even though technically this is a new batch of rankings, we will still analyze who are some risers from live-evals this winter and spring.   New Additions: Who are the new faces to the 2025 South Dakota Rankings?

NORTH DAKOTA-- As we unleash our first ever North Dakota rankings for the 2026 class, we breakdown to those newcomers to PRZ Dakotas what our evaluation process looks like, take a look at some of the hotbed schools in North Dakota in our 2026 class and much more!