Top players from each team Archbishop Spalding will face in 2026

One thing is for sure: Archbishop Spalding's season starts with matchups against some heavy hitters from the WCAC Capital Conference. See which top players from the opposing team they'll face this week.   Note: For the purposes of this article, I'll pick one player from both the 2027 and 2028 classes. I'll be using the current rankings for each class to identify the top player on that team.   8/28: DeMatha   Top 2027 Player : [player_tooltip player_id='505244' first='James' last='Pace III'] | 6-4 | 235 | Edge - PRZ ranking: No. 1   I didn't even have to look up the rankings to know this answer. There's no question that the Cavaliers will be spending a lot of time gameplanning for one of the top defensive linemen in the country.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1078829' first='Nikolas' last='Stevens'] | 6-5 | 265 | OL - DL - PRZ ranking No. 18   Offers have been trickling in for Stevens since the start of the new year. His latest offer from UConn came on March 24th.   9/5: St. John's College   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='734810' first='Da'Jon' last='Talley-Rhodes'] | 6-1 | 215 | RB - PRZ ranking No. 16   Rhodes will be taking spring visits to Penn State, Boston College, Indiana, and Wisconsin.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1166085' first='William' last='Crawford'] | 6-5 | 300 | OL - PRZ ranking No. 11   Crawford has over 10 offers, with Virginia Tech being his latest (March 24th).   9/11: Good Counsel   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1291840' first='Anthony' last='Sweeney'] | 6-4 | 220 | Edge - PRZ ranking No. 2   Sweeney is another edge defender that Archbishop Spalding will have to gameplan for. He is one of the top players in the nation. He took. an unofficial visit to South Carolina on March 19th.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1084511' first='Ashton' last='Chiles'] | 6-1 | 215 | LB - PRZ ranking No. 9   Chiles is going ot be a beast for GC for the next two seasons. He has unofficial visits set for Penn State (March 28th) and Virginia Tech (April 3rd).   9/19: Mount St. Joseph   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1351716' first='Jakhai' last='Spano'] | 6-3 | 225 | Edge - PRZ ranking No. 38   Spano finished the 2025 season with 76 total tackles, 27 tackles for a loss, and 10 sacks. He took an unofficial visit to The Naval Academy on March 24th and will be visiting Delaware on April 11th.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1644188' first='Kinnard' last='Mahomes'] | 6-0 | 165 | DB - PRZ ranking No. 17   Mahomes' most recent offer came from Northwestern on February 22nd.   9/25: Gilman   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1631093' first='Marcus' last='Turpin'] | 6-3 | 165 | Ath - PRZ ranking No. 35   Turpin took in a spring visit to Virginia on March 23rd.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1452205' first='Aiden' last='Johnson'] | 5-10 | 170 | Ath - PRZ ranking No. 63   10/2: Concordia Prep   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='423015' first='Justin' last='Dixon'] | 6-2 | 195 | QB - PRZ ranking No. 27   Dixon is a Syracuse football commit.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1452209' first='Michael' last='Iheanacho'] | 6-3 | 305 | OL - PRZ ranking No. 52   Ihenacho's early offers include Oregon and LSU.   10/9: McDonogh   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='717345' first='Joseph' last='Buchanan III'] | 6-4 | 260 - PRZ ranking No. 5   Buchanan took a spring visit to NC State on March 7th. He has visits planned for Tennessee (March 31st) and Virginia Tech (April 11th).   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1506844' first='CJ' last='Davis'] | 5-11 | 175 | Ath - PRZ ranking No. 10   I'm very high on Davis because he's an impact player on both sides of the football. I wouldn't be surprised if he got more touches on the offensive side of the ball this upcoming season.   10/23: Calvert Hall   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1349740' first='Connor' last='Murray'] | 6-3 | 285 | OL/DL - PRZ ranking No. 57   Connor is getting a lot of FCS interest, with his most recent offer coming from Fordham on March 13th. He finished the 2024 season with 35 pancake blocks from his offensive lineman position.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1697936' first='Jordan' last='Hicks'] | 6-2 | 165 | DB - PRZ ranking No. 23   HIcks was at Virginia Tech's spring practice on March 21st. He finished the 2026 season with 20 pass breakups, three interceptions, and 10-plus tackles.   10/30: St. Mary's   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1971943' first='Dylin' last='Jackson'] | 6-0 | 170 | Ath - PRZ ranking No. 73   Jackson finished the 2025 season with 52 receptions for 738 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. He received his 4th D-1 offer from Richmond on March 21st. He plans to visit Brown for Junior Day on April 2nd.   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='2134369' first='Cullen' last='Rigby'] | 6-2 | 225 | LB - PRZ ranking No. 94   Rigby finished the 2025 season with 75 total tackles, two sacks, and five tackles for a loss.   11/6: Loyola   Top 2027 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1631057' first='Jason' last='Block'] | 6-3 | 215 | DL/OL - PRZ ranking No. 207   Top 2028 Player: [player_tooltip player_id='825096' first='Carlos' last='Spencer'] | 6-1 | 175 | QB - PRZ ranking No. 21   There aren't too many quarterbacks from the state of Maryland who aired it out like Spencer did last season. He completed 229 of 386 passes for 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during his sophomore season. He also rushed for 364 yards and five touchdowns.

One thing is for sure: Archbishop Spalding's season starts with matchups against some heavy hitters from the WCAC Capital Conference. See which top players from the opposing team they'll face this week.