Final 2026 Rankings Update: The Stockrisers 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 football season effectively came to an end with the Weekend of Champions.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Six new state champions, and unlimited memories for the 12 teams who made it that far.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But when it comes to individual glory, it didn't require a trip to Orangeburg for a number of athletes who were already ranked in the Prep RedZone South Carolina system prior to the start of the season for us to recognize that change was needed. As such, a group of athletes around the Palmetto State are going to finish up their careers with a better ranking.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can't overlook what the following players accomplished as seniors. Whether it was adding an exclamation point their resumes or simply showing out in a way they hadn't before shown, they gave us every reason to improve their rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NEW TO THE TOP 10&nbsp;</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We need to start at the top, where three players will finish up their career inside our overall Top 10.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christ Church receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816751' first='Jude' last='Hall']</strong> (up six spots to No. 10), Stratford tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']</strong> (up two spots to No. 9) and Indian Land athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819992' first='Sequel' last='Patterson']</strong> (up four spot to No. 8) now round out the top 10 after sitting in the teens after the last cycle. Of course, the biggest change of those three belonged to Patterson who elected in the summer to reclassify to the 2026 class. We made the change to Patterson's profile immediately after and inserted him into the rankings, something we found was even still too low for him after he spurred one of the best seasons in Indian Land history.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Hall and McGowan, their senior seasons were about adapting to change. Hall navigated two verbal commitments that ultimately didn't stick thanks to staff changes and eventually signed with Arkansas last week. For McGowan, his senior year was all about his adjustment from nearby Goose Creek, where he starred the last two seasons before making the jump over to Stratford.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>TOP 50 MOVEMENT</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each of the following players either entered the overall Top 50 for the first time or positively influenced their previously existing ranking with their performances throughout the fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165103' first='Anthony' last='Baxter']</strong> OL, South Pointe (Up 20 spots to No. 29) - Baxter may very well have been the most impressive interior lineman in the state throughout the 2025 season. The left guard was a violent as he was polished, and he's heading to the SEC for a reason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592529' first='Julian' last='Walker']</strong> DL, Dutch Fork (Up 23 spots to No. 19) - Walker got to be the guy after last season's graduations, and his production mirrored the responsibility. The fact that he had a second straight big-time performance in the state title win spoke volumes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1166986' first='Messiah' last='Jackson']</strong> QB, South Florence (Up 32 spots to No. 37) - Jackson put on some quality weight and then used it to power his way to high-end rushing figures to go along with his passing ability. He was a big reason the Bruins were back in another state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367827' first='Bristol' last='Biegenzahn']</strong> DL, West Ashley (Up 33 spots to No. 34) - The length Biegenzahn brought to the table was <em>the</em> priority for opposing offensive coordinators. Often, they'd take their chances limiting numbers elsewhere to consider his whereabouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary']</strong> RB/DB, Hampton County (Up 44 spots to No. 21) - Singletary gave non-Hampton County fans reason to pay attention to the small school in the middle of nowhere again. His rushing numbers were next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592609' first='Azel' last='Banag']</strong> DB, AC Flora (Up 46 spots to No. 47) - How Banag responded to the pressure of his recruiting needs to be factored into his the skill set he put on the field. Primarily, he frustrated some really good passers and receivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis']</strong> QB, Stratford (Up 56 spots to No. 31) - We already knew Davis was really good, but what we saw this year was how good he could be when he was surrounded by like-skilled players around him.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639712' first='Triston' last='Lewis']</strong> QB, Greenwood (Up 58 spots to No. 18) - South Carolina signee more than made his final year as a signal caller count. In the words of one of our scouts, “Lewis is the most dynamic dude I saw all year.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>OTHER BIG MOVERS AND SHAKERS</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the rankings, there were a number of guys who didn't just find their spot tick up a few spots. In fact, some of their rises were downright ridiculous considering the sheer amount of data we consider in our rankings.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you click on any of the following 15 players' names, you'll likely see reason after reason of why they impressed us throughout the 2025 football season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822196' first='Zachary' last='Balog']</strong> ATH, Bishop England - Up 22 spots to No. 92&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1732638' first='Khamari' last='Turner']</strong> DL, Chapman - Up 24 spots to No. 161</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1327713' first='Matthew' last='Hillstock']</strong> WR, Easley - Up 31 spots to No. 145</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='860400' first='Drevon' last='Dopson']</strong> QB, Irmo - Up 46 spots to No. 55</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797160' first='Moon' last='Gerald']</strong> QB, Loris - Up 46 spots to No. 101</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267234' first='Kenton' last='Caldwell']</strong> ATH, Newberry - Up 48 spots to No. 108</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze']</strong> ATH, Lewisville - Up 49 spots to No. 139&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267265' first='Amare' last='Reaves']</strong> DB, South Florence - Up 81 spots to No. 80&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394980' first='Chris' last='Coleman']</strong> OL, Northwestern - Up 85 spots to No. 116&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214944' first='Davion' last='McKinnis']</strong> DL, North Augusta - Up 94 spots to No. 180</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1667450' first='Amari' last='Verner'] </strong>RB, Seneca - Up 109 spots to No. 114</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797155' first='Justice' last='Hopkins']</strong> DL, Byrnes (pictured) - Up 110 spots to No. 177&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639798' first='MJ' last='Earl']</strong> RB, Belton-Honea Path - Up 162 spots to No. 190</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821733' first='Jayden' last='Scott'] </strong>WR, Nation Ford - Up 170 spots to No. No. 267</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592342' first='Connor' last='Dantzler']</strong> QB, James Island - Up 192 spots to No. 88</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734465' first='Jaydon' last='Lee']</strong> OL, South Pointe - Up 301 spots to No. 121</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->