2026 Rankings: The Wide Receivers

The receivers in the Class of 2025 rankings were special. Seven of the top eight are already signed/committed to play Division-I ball, and 10 total found themselves ranked inside the top 100 overall.   The Class of 2026 could easily match those benchmarks.   From super speedsters to excellent route runners to guys with physical traits to dominate, the current juniors at the position enter the bulk of the offseason with a target on their backs. And trust us, they love being in that spot.   Let's start by looking and the entirety of the group.    BREAKING DOWN THE TOP 5   [player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance'] Northwestern   Only one receiver (senior [player_tooltip player_id='272708' first='Chamarryus' last='Bomar'] of Westside) put on a bigger show than Vance did during the Weekend of Champions. Vance hauled in 11 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans' Class 5A, Division II title win over Irmo. He's a mere 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, but his pass-catching ability can't be denied.    [player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren'] Bluftton   Warren and Aeden McCarthy have started to show how potent they can be together. We think their senior seasons could be downright special. Each are in the top 80 of our overall rankings and they clearly feed off each other. Warren (59 receptions, 846 yards, 14 touchdowns) has some size that makes him stand out to recruiters.    [player_tooltip player_id='816735' first='Jamel' last='Howse'] Newberrry   The South Carolina commitment may ultimately be a tight end on an every-down basis. For now, he's a hybrid who put up 412 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 34 receptions as a junior. His build has made him an attractive target fro colleges, and he nipped much of that in the bud by pledging to the Gamecocks in October.    [player_tooltip player_id='1165081' first='Kendall' last='Byrd'] AC Flora   There may not be an offense in the state we're higher on heading into the 2025 season than AC Flora. The Falcons have so many dynamic pieces on that side of the ball, and Byrd is among the very best. Despite a monkey wrench getting thrown into the equation early last fall, Byrd still caught 83 passes for 1,104 yards and 10 scores.    [player_tooltip player_id='816751' first='Jude' last='Hall'] Christ Church   Speaking of monkey wrenches, Hall and the rest of the Christ Church offense were thrown one of their own when [player_tooltip player_id='1012637' first='Jackson' last='Repp'] was lost for the year early. That thrust Hall into the No. 1 spot and the 6-foot-4 Duke commit held his own. Even without the Repp concentration point, Hall was able to go for 795 yards and five score.     FIVE RISING STARS   [player_tooltip player_id='1395046' first='KD' last='Hainsworth'] Mountain View Prep   No receiver climbed the 2026 rankings as much as Hainsworth did after his huge opening stanza with the stars. He jumped 120 spots (three more than Vance's rise) and had some insane highlights to go along with his 17 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards. Hainsworth is a budding positional leader on the statewide level.    [player_tooltip player_id='1042719' first='Hayden' last='Morris'] Ridge View   In coach Derek Howard's own words, Morris was the most-improved receiver on a deep roster from the start of the season to the end. He ended up finished second in touchdowns (seven) and third in receptions (32) and yards (465). Jordan Gidron is off to South Carolina, which will only open up more targets moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id='1575461' first='Zach' last='Balog'] Bishop England    We hardly even mention what Balog does on defense (48 tackles, five interceptions) because he's so damn dynamic as a receiver. With [player_tooltip player_id='1592310' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney'] coming over, Balog instantly turned into a sensation on offense. He caught 65 passes for 1,027 yards and seven touchdowns. He had five 100-yard games and eight games with at least six receptions.   [player_tooltip player_id='1327713' first='Matthew' last='Hillstock'] Easley   With a catch radius bigger than his measurements thanks to his lateral quickness, Hillstock is a receiver to watch in the Upstate next fall. He more than doubled his production as a receiver from year one to year two on the varsity, and another sizable jump in his third and final season should be expected.     [player_tooltip player_id='1267277' first='Shamil' last='Saadiq'] Lugoff-Elgin   Saadiq is a fun inside-out receiver who the Demons use in a variety of ways. As a junior, he didn't have a huge year (32 receptions, 470 yards, five touchdowns). But what he did do alongside first-year quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1515057' first='Aiden' last='Fitzgerald'] is lay one heck of a foundation for next fall and what this offense can start to become.    FIVE SLEEPER PICKS FOR BIG SENIOR YEAR   [player_tooltip player_id='1267320' first='Jon' last='Kelly'] Myrtle Beach   Very few of the Seahawks' recent offseasons have looked like this one. Top receiver [player_tooltip player_id='272701' first='John' last='Simmons'] and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1254177' first='Gibson' last='Goodroe'] are moving on, and the bulk of the returning offense is in the run game. But we've seen this act play out before. Kelly (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) is a big receiver who if he stays healthy becomes a consistent target.   Jordan Jenkins Conway   Speaking of size, down the road in Conway stands the biggest receiver we have in our 2026 rankings. Jenkins has every bit of the necessary athleticism to blow up, but the Tigers' offense just never clicked in 2024. Another offseason can't hurt, and if Jenkins and [player_tooltip player_id='1399640' first='Noah' last='Legg'] can grow this thing chasing Legg's injury, that development might snap into alignment.    [player_tooltip player_id='1395080' first='Amiri' last='Acker'] Crescent   Only five players that we know of in the class has more yards per reception than Acker's 21.57 from his junior year. He had three 60-plus and an 89-yarder along the way. So while he only had 28 receptions, they weren't for 604 yards and six scores. Folding in more targets could mean even more pay dirt for this home run threat.    [player_tooltip player_id='1592487' first='Tristian' last='Spann'] Hartsville    Spann isn't so much an anomaly in the Hartsville offense as he's another reason to keep defenses on their toes. He caught a team-high 25 passes for 445 yards and six touchdowns and has the measurements to get the job done against jams or double coverages. A lot of that has to do with his verified game speed, which gives him a serious advantage.   [player_tooltip player_id='1592357' first='J'Qwan' last='Crosby'] Stratford    We ranked Crosby for the first time last week, and while we don't regret waiting to do so - he'd done little by the time our last update was released - we also don't see him staying where he's at long. The more we dig into him, the more we see: Pure strength, a connection with [player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis'] (Crosby caught twice as many passes as the next Knights receiver) and an ability to get open when Davis is scrambling.

The receivers in the Class of 2025 rankings were special. Seven of the top eight are already signed/committed to play Division-I ball, and 10 total found themselves ranked inside the top 100 overall.