10 emerging 2026 prospects to watch this season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2026 class in New Mexico is loaded with talent. We recently updated our class rankings. Here are 10 2026 prospects to watch this coming season (listed in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266527' first='Damien' last='Avila'], Organ Mountain</strong>: The Knights are rebuilding under head coach Kenneth Sanchez and Avila is one of the young players he'll be counting on. Avila showed promise as a freshman last season both running and catching the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266460' first='Diego' last='Baeza'], Valencia</strong>: The 6-foot-3 rising junior is incredibly strong and should be one of the anchors of Valencia's offensive line in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266519' first='Joseph' last='Bitar'], Centennial</strong>: Who replaces Lobos signee [player_tooltip player_id='274702' first='John' last='Sierra'] at LB for the Hawks? Bitar is expected to be in the thick of the fight and should emerge as one of the starters for Centennial. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266542' first='Sergio' last='Cisneros'], Albuquerque High</strong>: The 6-foot-1 Cisneros saw action for the Bulldogs varsity as a sophomore in 2023 and aims to become a major contributor to the offense in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266452' first='Ethan' last='Lopez'], Roswell</strong>: Lopez, one of several JV standouts in 2023 looking to make the jump to the Coyotes varsity, should have a major role on the new look Roswell O-Line &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266497' first='Tootie' last='McNeil'], Artesia</strong>: McNeil showed promise last season in limited action for the Bulldogs varsity and should emerge this season as a solid contributor in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266408' first='Parker' last='Miller'], Rio Rancho</strong>: After gaining valuable varsity experience as a sophomore in 2023, Miller will compete for the Rams' No. 1 WR job. He averaged 14.7 yards per reception last season with 3 TD. Miller and [player_tooltip player_id='1259000' first='Jace' last='Pitt'] will be a nice WR duo for Rio Rancho.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266333' first='John' last='Olguin'], Mayfield</strong>: Olguin is a promising offensive line prospect for the Trojans. He has superior strength as seen by his weight room workouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zayland Pesante, Carlsbad</strong>: Pesante had a solid 2023 season as a defensive linemen for the Cavemen with 25 tackles and 2.0 TFL.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266509' first='Kannon' last='Ramage'], Roswell</strong>: Ramage to set to become the next great defensive player for a Coyotes unit filled with special talent. Ramage will likely start at linebacker alongside [player_tooltip player_id='836944' first='Keegan' last='Nichols'], one of the top LBs in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1764665476163002608","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1764665476163002608 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->