Way Too Early: Oregon Preseason 6A Top 15 (2024)
In this article:
1)West Linn- The Lions have something to prove after not getting the job done in the state semis against Central Catholic this past year. Unanimous 1st team all-conference QB/WR tandem Baird Gilroy Baird Gilroy 6'5" | 215 lbs | QB West Linn…
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1)West Linn- The Lions have something to prove after not getting the job done in the state semis against Central Catholic this past year. Unanimous 1st team all-conference QB/WR tandem
Baird Gilroy
Baird
Gilroy
6'5" | 215 lbs | QB
West Linn | 2025
State
OR
and
Danny Wideman
Danny
Wideman
5'10" | 175 lbs | ATH
West Linn | 2025
State
OR
return along with 6-4 standout WR
Wyatt Smiley
Wyatt
Smiley
6'4" | 180 lbs | WR
West Linn | 2025
State
OR
. Also back from injury will be 6-3 220-pound RB/OLB
Hudson Hardy
Hudson
Hardy
6'3" | 220 lbs | ATH
West Linn | 2025
State
OR
who will rank among Oregon’s best for the 2025 class.
Add to this 4*DE/TE Baron Naone Baron Naone 6'4" | 225 lbs | TE West Linn | 2025 State OR and 2x 1st team OL Jake Normoyle Jake Normoyle 6'4" | 295 lbs | OL West Linn | 2025 State OR and the Lions should control the games up front. Returning the nation’s top 2027 CB Josiah Molden Josiah Molden 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB West Linn | 2027 State OR won’t hurt either. In summary West Linn has unreal talent and will need to make a statement next season.
2)Central Catholic- Credit to the Rams as they have been Oregon’s top team over the last decade, winning numerous state titles. They not only beat West Linn last year but beat Washington state champ Bellevue 48-27 for the 2nd year in a row.
All of that said as they will lose 3x Mt Hood POY Cru Newman Cru Newman 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Central Catholic | 2024 State OR who was key in all of their success. That will be tough to make up for even with a litany of talent returning. 3* WR’s Landon Kelsey Landon Kelsey 6'4" | 210 lbs | WR Central Catholic | 2025 State OR and Zhaiel Smith Zhaiel Smith 6'0" | 185 lbs | ATH Central Catholic | 2025 State OR should be considered one of the top WR combos in the West. Current sophomore’s Tyson Davis Tyson Davis 6'0" | 195 lbs | RB Central Catholic | 2026 State OR and Killian Sombe Killian Sombe 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Central Catholic | 2026 State OR are equally impressive at the RB spot. They will also feature one of the region’s top lines, led by 6-5 270-pound standout Zac Stascausky Zac Stascausky 6'5" | 270 lbs | OL Central Catholic | 2025 State OR .
CC has proven me wrong multiple times, but I just don’t see them getting the W without Cru against West Linn.
3)Lakeridge- Once again I have the Pacers ranked among the top teams in the state. On paper next year’s group could feature one of the best defenses ever to represent the TRL. 6-3 240-pound DE/OLB Noah Tishendorf Noah Tishendorf 6'3" | 240 lbs | LB Lakeridge | 2026 State OR will be a 6A POY candidate. 6-5 Kayce Tinner Kayce Tinner 6'4" | 210 lbs | ATH Lakeridge | 2025 State OR is one of state’s fastest rising prospects, with 6-5 250 pound DE Colin Fratzke Colin Fratzke 6'5" | 260 lbs | DL Lakeridge | 2025 State OR having a big junior year.
The size is obviously there with a pair of current sophomore LB’s returning and ranked among the state’s best in Yahkyll Noil Yahkyll Noil 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Lakeridge | 2026 State OR and Kalani Messenger Kalani Messenger 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Lakeridge | 2026 State OR . It doesn’t stop there with Marcus Post Marcus Post 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Lakeridge | 2026 State OR and Zyon Floyd Zyon Floyd 5'11" | 175 lbs | ATH Lakeridge | 2025 State OR leading the secondary.
Lakeridge lost to West Linn & CC by a combined score of 94-16 last year so they still have a long way to go but the talent speaks for itself.
4)Mountainside- One of the fastest rising programs in Oregon. If there was anyone potentially able to hang with West Linn and CC in the years ahead it might be the Mavericks.
Sophomore Jordan Hicks Jordan Hicks 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Mountainside | 2026 State OR went off, rushing for 1300+ yards and 16 TDs and 2025 DB’s Kellen Hicks Kellen Hicks 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mountainside | 2025 State OR and Madden Tanuvasa Madden Tanuvasa 6'0" | 175 lbs | DB Mountainside | 2025 State OR will rank as two of the top players in Oregon, both earning 1st team all-conference honors.
6-4 200 pound athlete Sam Vyhlidal Sam Vyhlidal 6'4" | 205 lbs | ATH Mountainside | 2026 State OR was a 1st team all Metro guy on both sides of the football. He will be a conference and state POY candidate the next two seasons. Fellow sophomore Andrew Ramtel Andrew Ramtel 5'9" | 160 lbs | ATH Mountainside | 2026 State OR led the Metro statistically at WR. If they can get some line play, the sky’s the limit.
5)Lake Oswego- The biggest question comes at QB where things are up in the air. Standout 2026 RB Lamarcus Bell Lamarcus Bell 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Lake Oswego | 2026 State OR went for 1100 yards and 11 TDs, to go with zero fumbles this past season. He will be called upon even more so with the graduation of Zavier Russell Zavier Russell 5'11" | 205 lbs | RB Lake Oswego | 2024 State OR .
Lakeridge has beaten LO the last two years which likely doesn’t sit well with Steve Coury. The Lakers offense struggled against TRL competition averaging 10 points per game. Expect the D to be the X factor with two Oregon’s best leading the way in Lusiano Lopez Lusiano Lopez 6'2" | 240 lbs | DL Lake Oswego | 2025 State OR and 6-4 220 pound OLB/DE Oliver Macy Oliver Macy 6'4" | 220 lbs | DL Lake Oswego | 2025 State OR .
6)Jesuit- The Crusaders always reload but do lose some significant talent from a team that caught fire to close the year. The Metro League Offensive & Defensive POY Lonnie Burt Lonnie Burt 6'1" | 200 lbs | ATH Jesuit | 2024 State OR graduates, along with UW commit Elias Johnson Elias Johnson 6'3" | 170 lbs | DB Jesuit | 2024 State OR and 3x 1st team all-conference athlete Jace Burton Jace Burton 5'11" | 165 lbs | DB Jesuit | 2024 State OR .
QB Trey Cleeland will be back, but inexperienced talent will be everywhere, so there will be questions marks. Look for Jesuit to lean on the D to keep them in tough ball games, with 1st & 2nd team all-conference LB’s Kevin Keanaaina Kevin Keanaaina 6'0" | 185 lbs | LB Jesuit | 2025 State OR and Sam Hunt Sam Hunt 6'0" | 195 lbs | LB Jesuit | 2025 State OR returning. Current sophomore’s Rowen Lewis Rowen Lewis 6'1" | 200 lbs | LB Jesuit | 2026 State OR and Roman Mallard Roman Mallard 6'0" | 180 lbs | ATH Jesuit | 2026 State OR will both be key defensively as well.
7)Sherwood- It’s tough to compare any team with last year’s Bowmen D which literally didn’t allow points for most of the season. Even in a weak conference it was an incredibly impressive feat.
Tualatin put things into perspective during the state semi’s dropping 42 on Sherwood. That said as they will lose Pacific Conference POY’s Kasen Covert Kasen Covert 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Sherwood | 2024 State OR and Keaten Fried Keaten Fried 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Sherwood | 2024 State OR to graduation and need some of the young guys to step up big.
QB Jackson Bell Jackson Bell 6'1" | 170 lbs | QB Glencoe | 2024 OR is talented and ready to go with RB Wilson Medina Wilson Medina 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Sherwood | 2025 State OR being one of the state’s breakout performers. Most importantly on D, Treyson Eddleman Treyson Eddleman 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Lakeridge | 2025 State OR will return and rank as one of Oregon’s best for the 2025 class. Him and his brother Kilian Eddleman Kilian Eddleman 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Lakeridge | 2026 State OR could very well vie for conference POY honors.
8)Tigard- The Tigers have a bunch of young talent coming up through the ranks with a handful of all league kids returning next season. Trevin Laird Trevin Laird 6'2" | 200 lbs | DB Tigard | 2025 State OR will project as one of the top two way threats in the conference, with Ivan Morales Ivan Morales 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Tigard | 2025 State OR being among the top LB’s anywhere in the state.
In the secondary Colt Ness Colt Ness 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Tigard | 2025 State OR and Owen Wright Owen Wright 5'11" | 170 lbs | ATH Tigard | 2025 State OR are listed among the top DB’s in Oregon for the 2025 class. Both are exceptional overall athletes who excel in other sports. The unknown with Tigard comes with the offense, finishing 0-5 in the TRL last season.
9)Tualatin- This will be interesting. The T-Wolves graduate a ton of talent but return one of the top QB’s in the West in Nolan Keeney Nolan Keeney 6'4" | 205 lbs | QB Tualatin | 2025 State OR . The addition of 2x all conference athlete Maliq Smith Maliq Smith 5'11" | 175 lbs | ATH Tualatin | 2025 State OR from Glencoe should help offset some of the losses, with Jr. Calvin Evans Calvin Evans 6'1" | 190 lbs | ATH Tualatin | 2025 State OR leading the TRL in tackles and having an unreal season overall.
Tualatin has a talented 2026 class so expect some of those current sophomores to step up and play a key role next season.
10)West Salem- I see Shawn Stanley’s team getting back in the mix and winning the South/Central title next season. QB Kaden Martirano Kaden Martirano 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB West Salem | 2025 State OR earned 1st team all-conference honors but will need to improve on his 48% completion percentage.
Evan Wusstig Evan Wusstig 6'0" | 175 lbs | ATH West Salem | 2026 State OR was maybe the most impressive sophomore in Oregon, earning 1st team all-conference accolades on both sides of the ball. The Titans have numerous other young guys coming up who can play, as indicated by their convincing 42-21 win over Sheldon at the end of last season.
11)Sheldon
12)Sunset
13)Oregon City
14)North Medford
15)South Medford