Notes on 6 stock-rising standouts at Under Armour New Orleans

March and its heavy run of recruiting camps are winding down with an Under Armour Next event Sunday in New Orleans marking a second straight weekend drawing some of the state's and region's best to the city for one of the major regional showcase opportunities.   The day's roster was star-studded, and some of the buzz is still just beginning to circulate of top performers, recruiting intel and other major takeaways.   But we had the opportunity to pick national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman's brain this week about some of Louisiana's top prospects that caught his eye as he covered the event for Rivals | On3.   Spiegelman will have <a href="https://www.on3.com/user/sam-spiegelman/">plenty of recruiting-intel updates from the weekend</a>, but we wanted to focus not necessarily on all the top prospects overall, but primarily on six potential stock-up names of note from Louisiana's 2027 and 2028 classes generating buzz coming out of the weekend.     [player_tooltip player_id='723579' first='Easton' last='Royal'] — 5-11, 185 WR — Brother Martin (2027)   Again, this article's primarily focus isn't the highlight the top overall prospects, but the Brother Martin star is someone who both fits that bill and seems to continue to impress everyone who watches him work each and every time out. Royal was on the Prep Redzone Louisiana radar as a highly ranked prospect in the class going back to freshman year, took another huge leap forward as he improved his speed drastically during sophomore year and now — continuing to blaze top-end track speeds and get stronger — is cementing himself as a top receiver in the nation and one of the best to come through Louisiana in recent memory.   [player_tooltip player_id='1372169' first='Jaden' last='Keelen'] — 5-11, 190 DB — John Curtis (2028)   Another New Orleans area standout on whom Prep Redzone Louisiana has been particularly high from the very beginning of his high school career, Keelen continues to command more and more recognition, including now his second major camp MVP selection for his position group even as a 2028 prospect competing against many players a year older. He consistently runs 40-yard dash times among the best of all participants and is a confident, instinctive and physical defender who dominates the bulk of his reps and holds his own against even the best of the best receivers.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594309' first='Maison' last='Smith'] — 6-3, 275 DL/OL — University Lab (2027)   A theme may start to develop here, but Smith is a player that Prep Redzone Louisiana fans should be quite familiar with and that may be starting to open some other network eyes. This year will be an interesting opportunity to see his performance after top-ranked 2026 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='212343' first='Lamar' last='Brown'] graduates and heads across campus to LSU, but Smith has been a consistent standout in his own right the past couple of years alongside Brown on both sides of the ball. He's a big physical force inside on defense with notable quickness at his size that makes him a handful for opposing blockers to keep at bay.   [player_tooltip player_id='1610129' first='Juelz' last='Batiste'] — 6-3, 225 EDGE — Edna Karr (2027)   Similar to Smith with Brown, Batiste will be interesting to watch this season as more of a focal point for opposing offenses to slow down after Edna Karr's graduation of so much talent in 2026, including a top-ranked prospect on the defensive front. But Batiste has all the tools to be among the state's best in this Louisiana class with his tall, long frame and explosiveness both firing out of his stance and arriving to quarterbacks and ball-carriers with violence. He was another of the first names mentioned in discussions of the biggest standouts Sunday on his home turf in Algiers.   [player_tooltip player_id='1845257' first='Dalen' last='Powell'] — 6-1, 170 RB — Ruston (2028)   The Bearcats' budding star entered this past fall already highly ranked in Prep Redzone Louisiana's 2028 class and lived up to that billing with a breakout sophomore campaign, including the first few college offers already falling in place. An injury cut the season short, though, and kept him out of playoff action. But Powell is already working his way back into action now, and both the on-field production and recruiting-trail dividends thus far should be just the tip of the iceberg for one of the best young talents in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id='1620696' first='Richmond' last='Saunier'] — 6-2, 200 QB — Lafayette (2027)   Some of the top-ranked quarterback prospects such as [player_tooltip player_id='261907' first='Peyton' last='Houston'], [player_tooltip player_id='465282' first='Malachi' last='Zeigler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1250281' first='Karsen' last='Sellers'] reportedly handled their business, but another name who drew some buzz at the event is the Lafayette High standout who had media and coaches alike impressed with his array of big throws. Louisiana's 2027 quarterback class has a chance to prove itself the best to come through the state, and part of that bid is the depth of talent beyond the top handful for most recognizable names. Saunier is another name to watch as this spring and summer heat up as a likely Division-I signee in this class.

March and its heavy run of recruiting camps are winding down with an Under Armour Next event Sunday in New Orleans marking a second straight weekend drawing some of the state's and region's best to the city for one of the major regional showcase opportunities.