2026 Top Ten Spotlight (Feb. Update)

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   Our latest ranking update for the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/oklahoma/rankings/2026-rankings/">state's 2026 class came out on Thursday</a>. The latest ranking update now features the top 175 players in the state's 2026 class. Every time we do a ranking update, we dive into prospect breakdowns following each release. In this breakdown, we're putting the spotlight on the top ten prospects. The top overall prospect has had a stranglehold on the top spot but we now have a few new faces in the top ten. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more 2026 breakdowns and more ranking updates throughout the next month!    We mentioned it earlier but Jenks standout [player_tooltip player_id='402378' first='KD' last='Jones'] continues to have an absolute stranglehold on the top overall spot in the state's 2026 rankings. The thing that continues to put Jones on top is his ability to be the complete package as a prospect. There's no doubt he's the best running back in the state but he also has the ability to be a threat out of the backfield as a receiver. And Jones showed multiple times during the 2024 season that he can be a workhorse if that's what's needed. In the regular season meeting against rival Union, Jones finished with well over 30 touches and had to earn every yard. Then you throw in the fact that Jones has been incredibly consistent in all three years of competing against the top level of talent in Class 6A-1 and you have a truly dominant and elite player. Jones appears to be closing in on announcing where he'll be headed when it comes to the next level.     Norman North standout [player_tooltip player_id='284117' first='Mason' last='James'] has been an absolute star since his freshman season. When he was a freshman, James was an overall athlete, standing out in all three phases of the game. But over the last two seasons, James has emerged as arguably the very best wide receiver in the state, regardless of class. And now that the 2025 class has graduated, James might not have much competition at the top of the list. James was an All State 2nd Team selection during his junior season and we'd be very surprised if he didn't elevate to the 1st Team in 2025. James was also one of the Oklahoma standouts earlier this week at the Under Armour camp in north Texas. And as we wrote then, the overall quickness and speed of James makes him nearly impossible to cover in one on one situations. James also recently announced his Top Ten schools so he's starting to narrow things down for his college choice.     Owasso defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1179991' first='Tajh' last='Overton'] really started to explode during his sophomore season and at this time last year, Overton had emerged as a truly elite prospect in the state's 2026 class. Overton has now taken over the top spot along the defensive line and it feels like every other day, Overton is being offered by another P4 program. We got a chance to see Overton in person twice during the 2024 season and each time, he lived up to the hype. The thing that impressed us the most about him was his ability to still have an impact on the game, despite going against a very talented offensive line on the other side of the match-up. Overton is your prototypical defensive tackle that can absolutely wreck things along the line of scrimmage. It feels like he's either going to beat his man or he's going to be held if he's in a one on one situation. And that makes double-teaming him mandatory for opponents.     Jenks offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='467408' first='Ryley' last='Kester'] continues to be one of our favorite prospects to watch in this class. Kester might not have some of the measurables that the other offensive linemen in this class has but we'll put our chips on Kester to get the job done. He's another 2026 prospect that has been considered an absolute monster since his freshman season. In fact, we've known about Kester since before his freshman year and every time we've seen him in person, he's backed up the hype. He projects to becoming more of an interior offensive lineman at the next level and we think he'll be incredibly successful, wherever he ends up. For us, it's the combination of skills and drive that puts Kester in a spot all by himself. Kester knows how to use his hands and has multiple ways to beat his opponent. Then he doesn't have a battery that runs out and is going to make you fight for all four quarters.     Lawton MacArthur defensive standout [player_tooltip player_id='403509' first='Adam' last='Auston'] continues to be one of the more intriguing defensive prospects in the state's 2026 class. Auston has committed to Arkansas but he's still one of the names to watch moving forward in this class. When we first watched Auston, we saw a safety who had unbelievable instincts and could change the game in the blink of an eye. Auston also has the size that could make him more of a hybrid defender when it comes to the next level. He looks like a prospect that could fit in nicely as a linebacker or a safety in college. For now, we still have him listed as the top overall defensive back in an absolutely loaded DB class. But don't be surprised if he ends up moving to a different position between now and when the final 2026 rankings come out a year from now. In our opinion, Auston has an incredibly high ceiling moving forward and that's put him into the top five.     Del City's [player_tooltip player_id='587262' first='Ricklan' last='B Holmes II'] took the next step as a prospect during his junior season. Holmes has been on our radar since the end of his freshman year and as a sophomore, he was a really good piece on a loaded Del City team that made it all the way to the state championship game. But during his junior season, Holmes took that next step as a prospect and became one of the better two-way players in the state. He was an absolute bruiser from the running back position, with deceptive speed in the open field. But on defense, Holmes solidified himself as the top inside linebacker in the state's 2026 class. Simply put, he has a nose for the football and when we got a chance to see him in person in 2024, he was always making the play or he was right there, in a position to do so. If Holmes makes another leap in 2025, similar to the one we just witnessed in 2024, he'll be a truly elite prospect in this class.     Bixby's [player_tooltip player_id='402387' first='Trey' last='McGlothlin'] is the highest rated newcomer to the top ten in the 2026 class. In our last update, McGlothlin was knocking on the door but he kicked the door down. McGlothlin got on our radar early on in his high school career as a standout in various 7v7 tournaments. It was clear that he was incredibly athletic and had the ability to be a top prospect in this class. His junior season saw him emerge as one of the best defenders in the state and he settled into his natural position, which looks like an athletic outside linebacker. Since the start of his junior season, McGlothlin would see his recruitment absolutely take off, earning offers from all over the country. Now, McGlothlin is a name that you need to know moving forward and he has the potential to be one of the better defenders in the state when the 2025 season begins. He's yet another Bixby prospect to emerge from the linebacker position.     Valliant standout [player_tooltip player_id='587265' first='Kenny' last='Golston'] is another prospect that has been on the radar since his freshman season. Golston has been an absolute monster at the running back position for three seasons now. The southeastern Oklahoma standout has earned the attention of college programs all over the country. Every time we've seen Golston in person, he's routinely been one of the best football players on that field. Now, we've consistently had Golston rated as a running back in these 2026 rankings. However, it's pretty clear that Golston needs to be considered as an overall athlete because colleges are starting to look at Golston as a linebacker when it comes to the next level. With most prospects who shine on both sides of the ball, we typically lean one way or the other but with Golston, we think he'll be successful on either side and it's 50-50 at this point for us.     Another newcomer to the top ten from Bixby is [player_tooltip player_id='415161' first='Braeden' last='Presley'] and the last time we saw him in pads, he was arguably the most dominant player on the field in the 6A-1 state championship game. As we wrote then, there's just something about a "Presley" dominating in the state championship game. Since the end of his junior season, Presley has seen his recruitment absolutely take off. And he's been a prospect that we've known about since he entered high school because of the success of his older brothers in high school and eventually college. Presley was banged up early on in his high school career but he came back with a vengeance during his junior season and clearly got stronger over the course of the year, finishing off in the state title game. We have Presley rated here as an overall athlete because he's being recruited heavily as a defensive back but has shown to be an absolute star at wide receiver.     Our final prospect in the top ten is a newcomer to the 2026 rankings altogether. Putnam City's [player_tooltip player_id='1624786' first='DJ' last='Ackerson'] has absolutely exploded over the last few months as a true national prospect. Ackerson is also part of a Putnam City defense that we really like heading into the 2025 season based on the next level talent they have returning. We also just got a chance to see Ackerson in person for the first time at the Under Armour camp in north Texas and he really impressed with his ability to move around. Ackerson is being used right now as a hybrid defender that looks just as comfortable coming down as a linebacker as he does when he's moving back to a safety position and becoming more of a ball hawk. The athleticism that Ackerson has is off the charts and that's a big reason why he's blown up as a prospect since the end of his junior season. It doesn't look like it'll slow down anytime soon.

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