2026 Rankings Update: Sneak Peak

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On January 7, Prep RedZone South Carolina will unveil its new rankings for the Class of 2026. It's going to be one of the winter updates for a soon-to-be rising senior class in our site's five years of existence.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All told, we're looking at nearly 100 new players to the mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But how did we get to such a huge figure? The answer is all about access, data and evaluations galore. Maybe most importantly, it has something to do with our boots on the ground.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep RedZone South Carolina staff covered 142 different teams over of the course of the 2024 football season. When that wasn't enough, we had our scouts watching (and often sharing) game film. We wanted you to see everything we did.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As such, we've identified a bunch of new faces we're ready to add to the Class of 2026 rankings just after the new year. These 15 will be among them.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592507' first='Luke' last='Young']</strong> LB, Clinton | The junior's 2024 came to an end only after posting five more tackles in the Devils' Class 2A state title win over Barnwell. He finished with north of 100 stops and is primed to become the guy at linebacker next fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592487' first='Tristian' last='Spann']</strong> WR, Hartsville | While everyone is focused on the Red Foxes' running game, Spann gave offensive coaches another reason to throw the ball. His 500 yards and eight touchdowns should only continue to increase.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592374' first='Trey' last='Burke']</strong> QB, Spartanburg | Burke has doubled and even tripled most of his offensive production from his initial campaign in 2023 while simultaneously cutting down on his turnovers. He's a name to watch for the Vikings in the next 12 months.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592362' first='Josue' last='Esiki']</strong> LB, White Knoll | Over the summer, White Knoll hoped - key work, <em>hoped</em> - Esiki could fill some of the void from the previous graduating class. After he finished second on the team in tackles, the hopes for him have gone much higher.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592198' first='Jontavious' last='Canty']</strong> ATH, Manning | As far as the Monarchs went this fall, there were three players on a that we started to expect something from on a week-to-week basis. Canty was one of those three.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592244' first='Brandon' last='Mack']</strong> RB, AC Flora | The Falcons' passing attack is going to be what's talked about heading into next fall. Bad news for opponents is they also have to worry about a quickly developing rushing attack led by Mack.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592194' first='Jaemin' last='Pinckney'] </strong>DL, Woodland | We're not sure how high Pinckney's ceiling is, but the 6-foot-4, 190 edge could be staring a whole bunch of offers as his name continues to circulate further and further away from the Lowcountry.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148537' first='Jaryn' last='Fox']</strong> RB, Carolina Forest (pictured) | Fox started out the year sort of how we expected him to while running behind the Panthers' line. Then, he decided he was done playing with everyone and put up a semi-preposterous final seven games of the year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592462' first='Willie' last='Kennedy']</strong> LB, South Florence | Kennedy went from relatively unknown to planned-for linebacker in the blink of an eye. He helped the Bruins to a Class 4A state title by putting up 110 total tackles.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592182' first='Terence' last='Johnson']</strong> ATH, Oceanside Collegiate | Week after week, coaches continued to come to us raving about Johnson, the linebacker/receiver/whatever he is from one play to the next. To be clear, these stream of coaches were all of the opposing variety.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1361647' first='Derrick' last='Thomas']</strong> RB, Orangeburg-Wilkinson | One half of the Bruins' resurgent rushing attack averaged north of 110 yards per game on the ground this year. With both him and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1126113' first='Jordan' last='Avinger']</strong> together again next fall, their production could be off the charts.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592310' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney']</strong> QB, Bishop England | The one-time Oceanside Collegiate back-up transferred to Bishop England in the offseason and then led the Bishops to a region title. He's got solid targets and prospects of an even bigger 2025.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592388' first='Jonathan' last='Montgomery']</strong> LB, Byrnes | With all of the Rebels' game away from home and with Montgomery missing a game or two, the progression he made is another sign for a huge bounce-back season for Byrnes after some 2024 struggles.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1551561' first='Aaden' last='Starnes'] </strong>OL, Hartsville | The 6-foot-5, 260-pound lineman nearly left Hartsville prior to last season. Instead, he stuck around, worked his tail off in the weight room and practice fields and now looks like a sure-fire college prospect in the making.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592414' first='KD' last='Whitt']</strong> ATH, Batesburg-Leesville | Whitt didn't excel in any one thing because he was too busy being really good at a bunch of different ones. He caught and rushed the ball, made tackles and even picked off three passes in limited defensive series.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->