Top 50 of 2025

The season is over, but we're not quite ready to move on just yet. Instead, we want to look back and put a bow on a chaotic and fun 2025 season, the first in North Carolina with eight NCHSAA classifications. We want to highlight the players who told the story of the 2025 season. Welcome to our Top 50 of 2025.

Editor's Note: When deciding what criteria we wanted to use for this list, we decided that a list that focused fully on future potential wouldn't make sense. At the same time, this isn't a copy and paste of the state's stat leaders. Instead, we decided to make this a sort of time capsule. When people think back to the 2025 season, which players come to mind? In other words, who told the story of the 2025 season?

50) Jacob Moore Jacob Moore 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Terry Sanford | 2026 State NC , QB, Terry Sanford

49) Keland Shelton Jr Keland Shelton Jr 6'3" | 190 lbs | ATH Providence | 2027 State NC ., Ath., Providence

48) Camereon Cartlidge Camereon Cartlidge 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Walkertown | 2026 State NC , LB, Walkertown

47) Nick Kashubara Nick Kashubara 6'3" | 280 lbs | OL Grimsley | 2026 State NC , OL, Grimsley

46) Lex Sevilla Lex Sevilla 6'0" | 205 lbs | QB/P Middle Creek | 2027 State NC , QB, Middle Creek

45) Braylon Clark Braylon Clark 6'3" | 190 lbs | WR Charlotte Country Day | 2028 State NC , WR, Charlotte Country Day

44) John Evans Jr. John Evans Jr. 5'11" | 210 lbs | RB Reagan | 2028 State NC , RB, Reagan

43) Tayden McPhatter Tayden McPhatter 5'10" | 180 lbs | ATH Garner | 2026 State NC , Ath., Garner

42) Ethan Nelson Ethan Nelson 5'9" | 170 lbs | RB/LB Wilson Prep | 2026 NC , Ath., Wilson Prep

41) CJ Dickerson CJ Dickerson 5'11" | 295 lbs | DL Hunt | 2027 NC , IDL, Hunt

40) Travon Usher Travon Usher 5'11" | 210 lbs | ATH Wilson Prep | 2026 NC , QB/DB, Wilson Prep

Also See: 1A Championship Recap: Offense

39) Dallas Brannon Dallas Brannon 6'2" | 200 lbs | LB Independence | 2026 State NC , LB, Independence

38) Ekene Ogboko Ekene Ogboko 6'6" | 290 lbs | OL South Garner | 2026 State NC , OL, South Garner

37) Keshawn Stancil Keshawn Stancil 6'3" | 260 lbs | DL Clayton | 2027 NC , IDL, Clayton

36) Quinton Cypher Quinton Cypher 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Millbrook | 2027 State NC , LB, Millbrook

35) Skylar Alston Skylar Alston 6'2" | 210 lbs | LB Cardinal Gibbons | 2028 State NC , LB, Cardinal Gibbons

34) Jaylen Moore Jaylen Moore 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB/ATH HPCA | 2026 State NC , RB, High Point Christian Academy

33) Brody Lowe Brody Lowe 6'0" | 195 lbs | QB Grimsley | 2029 State NC , QB, Grimsley

32) Jamauris Howard Jamauris Howard 5'9" | 160 lbs | ATH/DB Hunt | 2026 State NC , DB, Hunt

31) Davis Prichard Davis Prichard 6'4" | 230 lbs | EDGE/TE Middle Creek | 2026 State NC , Edge, Middle Creek

30) Christian Freeman Christian Freeman 5'9" | 180 lbs | ATH Southeast Raleigh | 2027 State NC , RB, Southeast Raleigh

29) Tristan Thompson-Wynn Tristan Thompson-Wynn 5'11" | 180 lbs | WR/DB Brevard | 2027 State NC , WR, Brevard

28) KD Cotton KD Cotton 5'10" | 175 lbs | ATH West Charlotte | 2026 State NC , Ath., Weddington

27) RJ Lynch RJ Lynch 5'6" | 150 lbs | WR/DB Lincolnton | 2028 State NC , WR, Lincolnton

26) Samari Matthews Samari Matthews 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB William A. Hough | 2026 State NC , DB, Hough

25) Faizon Brandon Faizon Brandon 6'4" | 185 lbs | QB Grimsley | 2026 State NC , QB, Grimsley

Also See: State Championship Wrap-Up

24) Jaysen Oriol Jaysen Oriol 6'2" | 265 lbs | DL/EDGE Panther Creek | 2026 State NC , DL, Panther Creek

23) Christopher Bispham Christopher Bispham 6'2" | 270 lbs | DL Havelock | 2026 State NC , DL, Havelock

22) Jaylen King Jaylen King 6'2" | 189 lbs | LB/DB Cleveland | 2026 State NC , LB, Cleveland

21) Andrew Harris Andrew Harris 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Weddington | 2026 State NC , Edge, Weddington

20) Jamouri Nichols Jamouri Nichols 5'11" | 175 lbs | QB West Charlotte | 2027 State NC , QB, West Charlotte

19) Devin Cotton Devin Cotton 6'3" | 215 lbs | EDGE Dudley | 2027 State NC , Edge, Dudley

18) Ely Hamrick Ely Hamrick 6'4" | 210 lbs | QB Crest | 2026 State NC , QB, Crest

17) Desyn Durrand, WR, Hoggard

16) Kamerin McDowell-Moore Kamerin McDowell-Moore 5'11" | 175 lbs | RB Tarboro | 2026 State NC , RB, Tarboro

15) Kendre Harrison Kendre Harrison 6'7" | 245 lbs | TE Reidsville | 2026 State NC , TE, Reidsville

14) Teo McPhatter Teo McPhatter 5'10" | 140 lbs | RB Princeton | 2028 State NC , RB, Princeton

13) Aiden Harris Aiden Harris 6'3" | 250 lbs | DL Weddington | 2026 State NC , IDL, Weddington

12) Grant Lawless Grant Lawless 6'4" | 200 lbs | QB East Lincoln | 2026 State NC , QB, East Lincoln

11) Ryan Peterson Ryan Peterson 6'0" | 215 lbs | LB William A. Hough | 2028 State NC , LB, Hough

10) Reginald Gray Reginald Gray 6'2" | 185 lbs | /WR Northside-Jacksonville | 2028 State NC , QB, Northside-Jacksonville

9) Ethan Royal Ethan Royal 6'2" | 195 lbs | QB William A. Hough | 2027 State NC , QB, Hough

8) Jaxon Dollar Jaxon Dollar 6'5" | 210 lbs | ATH East Lincoln | 2027 State NC , TE, East Lincoln

7) Aiden Smalls Aiden Smalls 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH/QB Clayton | 2026 State NC , QB, Clayton

6) Evan Burroughs Evan Burroughs 5'9" | 150 lbs | WR Watauga | 2026 State NC , WR/DB, Watauga

5) Lan Farmer Lan Farmer 6'3" | 225 lbs | QB Shelby | 2026 State NC , QB, Shelby

Also See: Top Uncommitted 2026 QBs

4) Zaid Lott Zaid Lott 6'4" | 200 lbs | QB Providence Day | 2026 State NC , QB, Providence Day

3) JJ Gulat JJ Gulat 5'8" | 195 lbs | RB/WR Dixon | 2026 State NC , RB, Dixon

2) Dionte Neal Dionte Neal 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Reidsville | 2026 State NC , Ath., Reidsville

1) Tyreek Copper Tyreek Copper 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR Kinston | 2026 State NC , WR, Kinston

We'll have plenty of in-depth content on our top 50—why they're there and what you should know about them. Make sure to follow @PrepRedzoneNC for the latest on camp coverage, rankings updates, and more.