South Dakota 2026 Spring Rankings Preview
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SOUTH DAKOTA–After a long hiatus in the Mount Rushmore State dating back to last fall, we have update our South Dakota 2026 rankings here . Rankings take a lot of time and effort, so we certainly appreciate those that have…
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Continue ReadingSOUTH DAKOTA–After a long hiatus in the Mount Rushmore State dating back to last fall, we have update our South Dakota 2026 rankings here . Rankings take a lot of time and effort, so we certainly appreciate those that have stuck with us thru the Fall, Winter, and into Spring. This 2026 South Dakota class grew substancially since last time, expanding from 90 prospects up to 105 prospects with another 25 or so on our watchlist for future evaluation. The biggest thing I will tell my Dakotas prospects is after the season, run thru your tape consistently and be sure create a highlight tape and put your best stuff on top for college coaches to see your talent early. I felt with this 2026 SD update, I had plenty of sound football prospects that did not do their due diligence and get their tape up before or after basketball or wrestling season, which saw a significant shift within our rankings moving those prospects into our watch list as in my eyes as a scout, it doesn’t show the competitive drive that you want an opportunity at the next-level and that is what we are all about giving prospects across the Dakotas, the exposure to college programs thru rankings and content with the college network we have from Division I to JUCO, and all divisions in between.
With every rankings update, I think it is best to unleash a preview of the class. Go over the trends of the class with who positions are trending upwards, how much change there was in the rankings (this SD class was not as top-heavy as ND) and who are some of our favorites from the newcomers to the rankings and the stockrisers. With all that said, let us preview the South Dakota 2026 Spring Rankings Update!
Our PRZ Prospect Evaluation Process:
This is always what I start with, as it is essential to what you see on our site, and what our why is of producing so much content on Dakotas football prospects Our #1 priority and goal with Prep Redzone Dakotas is to put prospects on the map for college coaches and college programs at all levels to advance their exposure. We evaluate prospects on next-level potential not stats, not on the team’s success in the state, it’s all about prospect upside, and how their skillsets fit in and apply at the next level when it comes down to measurables, athleticism and everything else that college programs measure as far as skillsets within their evaluations. All prospects will need to have tape available or have been referred to us by our anonymous sources throughout the North Dakota or South Dakota. We have always found that some prospects will peak early in their high school careers which is why our rankings change 3-4 times per year at Prep Redzone Dakotas, because we also always factor in several live evaluations year-around thru college prospect camps in the spring and summer, games during the fall season, and new to South Dakota, 7v7 season. We have seen several 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! The main goal? Expose as many prospects state-wide to make sure they get next-level opportunities thru our network of college programs from Division I FBS, FCS, Division II, NAIA, Division and the JUCO ranks.
Meet Our New Top 5:
#5: Cody Petersen Cody Petersen 6'6" | 250 lbs | OL Tea Area | 2026 State SD , OL, Tea Area Twitter
#4: Edward Whiting Edward Whiting 6'6" | 220 lbs | TE Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2026 State SD , TE, Sioux Falls Jefferson Twitter
#3: Grant Wilkinson Grant Wilkinson 6'8" | 305 lbs | OL De Smet | 2026 State SD , OL, De Smet Twitter
#2: Dveyoun Bonwell-Witte Dveyoun Bonwell-Witte 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR Sioux Falls Washington | 2026 State SD , WR, Sioux Falls Washington Twitter
#1: Hudson Parliament Hudson Parliament 6'4" | 290 lbs | DL Brandon Valley | 2026 State SD , DL, Brandon Valley Twitter
Nate’s Key Points from the 2026 South Dakota Rankings Update
The Value in the Trenches
If there is anything these two classes in the Dakotas teaches us, is prospects in the trenches remain the highest value to college coaches and ourselves as both Dakotas are very deep on both sides of the line. That starts with our #1 overall Dakotas prospect in Hudson Parliament Hudson Parliament 6'4" | 290 lbs | DL Brandon Valley | 2026 State SD , who is the earliest Division I offered athlete during our era of Prep Redzone Dakotas since 2020. The one that came out of left field in the trenches in the top five? That is Grant Wilkinson Grant Wilkinson 6'8" | 305 lbs | OL De Smet | 2026 State SD (6’8 305, no typo) of De Smet, who I have covered the family tree of Wilkinson family athletes over the years, and Grant looks to be the most dominant in my eyes on the gridiron and I am sure like his brothers, are studs on the hardwood too.
Positional Changes Were Mighty in South Dakota
South Dakota wasn’t as deep when it came down to true positional changes within our rankings, but the ones that stock rose up our 2026 rankings were powerful. First one that came to mind? Bradley Esser Bradley Esser 6'3" | 195 lbs | DB Harrisburg | 2026 State SD of Harrisburg. The 6’3 195 pound has found his home at safety, as the classes new DB1 and #7 overall SD prospect Bradley not only has outstanding range and stamina that popped out early, but the tight area between him and the wide receiver blossomed on his sophomore tape. Alec Austin Alec Austin 6'3" | 205 lbs | QB Centerville | 2026 State SD of Centerville is another one that more and more on tape shows off his pure development at quarterback as a prospect that was one of heck of an athlete all over the field when I discovered his talents two summers ago at the Augustana camp. Other notables that benefitted for a position change to their next-level upside are:
Younger Amiotte Younger Amiotte 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Wall | 2026 State SD , DB, Wall Twitter
DB3 in the SD 26 class. Yes, another Amiotte from Wall is high on our map from the West River powerhouse that is the Wall Eagles.
Kamden Schimmel Kamden Schimmel 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Harrisburg | 2026 State SD , DB, Harrisburg Twitter
Noticing a trend here? Defensive backs in this class are at an all-time high in South Dakota when it comes to value, as Kamden Schimmel Kamden Schimmel 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Harrisburg | 2026 State SD is another one that I had graded at quarterback, but watching his downhill physicality he showed on tape as well as his body type, he flashes more next-level as a defensive back to me.
Cael Nofziger Cael Nofziger 5'9" | 180 lbs | DB Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2026 State SD , DB, Sioux Falls Jefferson Twitter
Last year I recall Cael being ranked at linebacker but at defensive back, he flashes some well-versed instincts and plays WAY bigger than you will see in the measurables department.
Oliver Fieber Oliver Fieber 5'10" | 150 lbs | WR Deuel | 2026 State SD , WR, Deuel Twitter
I will name my source for this one, as he is a former scout of ours. Jake Evans has told me that Deuel Cardinals speed demon Oliver Fieber Oliver Fieber 5'10" | 150 lbs | WR Deuel | 2026 State SD will send more relentless speed to Deuel’s receiving core next year as a WR that hits in the 10.6 range on the track in the 100-meter dash.
Who Pops Out Early as a Stockriser and a Newcomer?
This one will be just a list, but there are several to name in both categories and throughout the coming weeks, we will shout out just about all of them.
Stockrisers:
Isaak Hunter Isaak Hunter 6'3" | 185 lbs | WR Miller-Highmore-Harrold | 2026 State SD , WR, Miller-Highmore-Harrold Twitter
Not only has a great bloodline being the brother of Karst Hunter, but Isaak flashes so much big play ability on tape consistently, he just shows off a sound clutch gene especially around the red zone.
Henry Telechan Henry Telechan 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Rapid City Stevens | 2026 State SD , DB, Rapid City Stevens Twitter
Henry ranks pretty highly amongst defensive backs that have shined at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Combines even as just a 2026 prospect, so those DBs that want a ton of reps on May 11th at Augustana, you better take note. Henry checks a lot of boxes with his just overall size at 6’2 180, which is rare DB size in the Dakotas. South Dakota 2026 DB2 I thought showed improved versatility on tape in run and pass coverage which put him at #10 overall in our rankings.
Tate Gerdes Tate Gerdes 6'3" | 185 lbs | ATH Lennox | 2026 State SD , ATH, Lennox Twitter
Tate is a positional mismatch with what he throws out on tape at 6’3 205 pounds to my evaluation. How in does anyone in their right mind defend him with the ball in his hands is the question with Tate, as he is very long strided and had more burst at his disposal than I would have expected making him an open field nightmare.
More Notable Stockriers:
Danny Immormino Danny Immormino DB Custer | 2026 State SD , DB, Custer
Westyn Thorpe Westyn Thorpe 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Leola Fredrick | 2026 State SD , ATH, Leola-Fredrick Twitter
Newcomers:
We will cover newcomers like clockwork this week so I will list off some of our favorites, but we will same their context for this week and next!
Bergan Tetzlaff Bergan Tetzlaff 6'4" | 205 lbs | LB Brookings | 2026 State SD , LB, Brookings
A sophomore linebacker at 6’4 205 that moves fluidly that is capable of getting sideline to sideline? That is all I will say for now. Stay tuned.
Ben Veldkamp Ben Veldkamp 6'2" | 250 lbs | OL Dell Rapids | 2026 State SD , OL, Dell Rapids Twitter
No question the back to back state champion Quarriers show off a stacked offensive line, but before my evaluation this week, I like Ben Veldkamp Ben Veldkamp 6'2" | 250 lbs | OL Dell Rapids | 2026 State SD ‘s upside for the next-level.
Cayden Patterson Cayden Patterson 6'2" | 205 lbs | DL Kadoka Area | 2026 State SD , DL, Kadoka Area
A small town sleeper to know sooner rather than later, but you might have to hit the road to find this young man as it has been hard over the years to find Kadoka Area athletes on my radar. As a 6’2 205 pound defensive end with great upside, Cayden Patterson Cayden Patterson 6'2" | 205 lbs | DL Kadoka Area | 2026 State SD is worth a road trip in my eyes in this 2026 class.
More Notable Newcomers:
Connor Kramer Connor Kramer 6'0" | 170 lbs | LB Hot Springs | 2026 State SD , LB, Hot Springs Twitter
Layne Bixby Layne Bixby 6'1" | 245 lbs | OL Rapid City Central | 2026 State SD , OL, Rapid City Central Twitter
ontent will flow between both Dakotas daily over the next week or two from each of these groups of article series:
What’s On Tap with Content?
Newcomers (Multi-Part Series)
-Who was added to our prospect database of 2025 prospects and what do they bring to the table as far as their skillsets?
Stockrisers (Multi-Part Series)
-Which prospects that were already ranked in the 2026 class rose their stock from last fall into this offseason and why did their rank see improvement?
Positional Breakdowns (Multiple Positions)
-We will stack up some of our position groups and evaluate why x prospect was ranked over x prospect due to what their tape shows, live evaluation shows, etc. This will happen all Spring long!
Small Town Sleepers
One of my favorite article series every ranking update. Which prospects from sleepy small town America made waves on our rankings whether newcomers or stockrisers? We always love to talk the population too showing off these prospects from small town North Dakota.