Final 2025 Kansas Rankings: Deck’s Favorite Signings

The final Kansas Class of 2025 rankings were updated and published this morning. The class now includes more than 600 ranked athletes and almost 300 athletes committed to playing college football.   Prep Redzone Kansas was launched in 2020, so this class of athletes would have been playing eighth-grade football then.   It's a fantastic and deep class that all Kansans who follow high school football should be proud of.   This will be the last time that the rankings change. Scouts will continue to update player profiles for athletes who commit later this spring, but the ebb and flow of the rankings process has concluded.   I would like to share my appreciation to all of the athletes and parents who have supported Prep Redzone by subscribing to our site. Without subscribers, we would be unable to provide reports on thousands of deserving Kansas athletes.   Prep Redzone Kansas scouts will be posting reports this week, sharing their favorite signings from this class.   Each athlete in this report, for one reason or another, has earned a soft spot in my heart and my admiration. Good luck to each of you as your college journey begins after graduation.    I first saw Le at two college clinics before his junior season. He is an athlete I have watched mature and evolve since then. Le was a diligent self-promoter on social media during his playing days and his recruiting process. It has taken a long time for me to see the benefits of social media, and I have mad respect for a young man who posted nothing but positive vibes on his account. Le is a workhorse in the weight room and on the field. For a while, it looked like he would have few college options to pick from, but he had plenty of college offers in the end. This is not just one of your normal local kid signings. Yes, the Emporia prospect is staying home to play for Garin Higgins' Emporia State Hornets, but it is also a signing that several Division II and JUCO programs will be jealous of.     Wake is an athlete I began to get familiar with while I was also working as a sports correspondent for the Leavenworth Times in 2023. He is also an athlete that I know Division I coaches were looking at. As a Pittsburg State alum, it pains me that he is headed to Missouri Southern, but it also makes me proud to see him get multiple opportunities to play college football.   The MIAA is a Division II conference rich in football history. I hope that Wake makes some of his own history in Joplin, and perhaps one day plays on NFL Sundays like former Lion wideout Rod Smith.     Short's signing is one of those old-fashioned tales of I went to scout Player A, but Player B caught my eye. Short stood out in a game against Shawnee Heights that I attended primarily so I could see Wake and a couple of top-ranked Thunderbirds compete. The big man immediately claimed his Prep Redzone player profile after being featured in a report after that game. He is one of those players who would have been recruited anyway, but he also seems to understand how Prep Redzone can aid in the recruiting process. Also, like Wake, I hate seeing him head to a Missouri program that I covered while attending Pitt State and covering MIAA football for the Pittsburg Morning Sun. Yet, it also shows that programs from other states have found the talent coming out of the Sunflower State.     This signing hits close to home. I only saw Stambaugh play once during his junior season, but I saw right off the bat that he had some natural skills and a passion for the game. Then once, I realized that he was the son of a Smoky Valley alum that I went to school with, it made it all the more special. It made me feel old, but it also made me proud of the rich tradition that small school Kansas programs produce. Stambaugh rushed for over 1,200 yards for the Vikings last season. As a lifelong Kansan who loves helping young athletes from Kansas gain exposure for their skills, this signing makes me very happy and proud.     The main reason I like this signing is very similar to why I like Le's. Molina used social media as a key tool in his recruitment. It might come off as a little preachy, but Molina's signing shows how far technology has come since I played football in the mid-'90s. A player from a similar part of the state from a small school in the 90s had little chance of getting noticed by national college coaches. However, with HUDL, various social media platforms like X, and companies like Prep Network, it is way easier for an athlete like Molina to get noticed. It also makes me grateful that for the first time ever at Prep Redzone Kansas, we have a scout west of Salina who can watch the western part of the state closer than ever before. Molina used his technological skills and his on-field skills to land an opportunity to play at Buena Vista University. Athletes asking themselves how they can get noticed by college coaches should use Molina and Le as examples to follow.

The final Kansas Class of 2025 rankings were updated and published this morning. The class now includes more than 600 ranked athletes and almost 300 athletes committed to playing college football.