With the 2024 high school football season rapidly approaching, the recruiting trail is beginning to heat up too. Players in the class of 2026 are just entering the prime of their high school career, so there's still plenty of time for an under-the-radar prospect to get noticed or a star to fizzle out.
As of righ now, here are the top 25 football recruits in Greater Cincinnati from the class of 2026.
25. Jacob Rudowski, P/S, Kings
As a sophomore last season, Rudowski was third team all-Ohio, first team all-Southwest Ohio, first team all-Cincinnati and first team all-Eastern Cincinnati Conference. He averaged just over 40 yards per punt and added 44 tackles and three interceptions on the season.
24. Sione Lolo, OL/DE, Milford
Lolo started for Milford at right tackle his sophomore year, and this year he'll move over to left tackle and also play defensive end. He's curently 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. If he can grow an inch or two and pack on some weight, there's a chance he could receive Division I offers.
23. Rio Litmer, QB, Highlands
Litmer showed off his poise and football IQ in 2023 with a 19-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He threw for 1,112 yards and added another two touchdowns on the ground. Litmer and Cooper's Cam O'Hara will meet up in one of the best quarterback matchups of the year in Greater Cincinnati when Cooper plays Highlands on Sept. 27.
22. Brady Stidham, K, Loveland
Stidham led the Eastern Cincinnati conference in touchbacks and was tied for the most field goals made in 2023. He made five-of-seven field goals from as far as 43 yards away and finished with 28 touchbacks.
He's the No. 76 ranked kicker in the country for the class of 2026, according to Kohl's Kicking Camps, the leading scouting and recruiting service for college special teams players. Stidham is also a star on the baseball field.
21. Andre Underwood, Athlete, Aiken
Underwood led Aiken in passing yards and finished second on the team in rushing yards in 2023. He's already received an offer from UMass, and he's expected to step up even further in his junior season.
20. Troy Harris, WR, Bethel-Tate
Harris was named a Southwest District All-Star for Division V. He caught 37 passes for 853 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore. Going into his junior year, he's already fourth all-time in Bethel-Tate history with 1,406 receiving yards. He also has three forced fumbles and three interceptions in his career.
19. Max Merz, OL, Highlands
Merz is 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, and he's already received six Division I offers, from Louisville, Marshall, Toledo and Troy, among others. He will anchor the Highlands offensive line as a junior in 2024.
18. Jesse Keith, LB, Wilmington
Keith, a 6-foot-1 linebacker, had 17 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions his sophomore year, in addition to 112 tackles and three passes defended. He won first-team all-Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference honors in 2023.
17. Kendell Buck-Barber, DB, Newport
Buck-Barber established himself as one of the best ballhawks in the area last year with seven interceptions for his sophomore season. At 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, Buck-Barber has some growing to do before he lands in Division I territory, but regardless he will be a terror for opposing quarterbacks this season.
He also added 179 receiving yards as a sophomore, so it will be interesting to see if he moves up the offensive depth chart in 2024.
16. Tye Spaulding, LB/TE, Western Brown
Spaulding was third among Ohio sophomores in total tackles last season with 135. He also added six tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions. Listed at 6-foot-1, 207 pounds, Spaulding also returned two kickoffs in 2023.
15. Derrick Singletary, EDGE, Bishop Fenwick
Singletary was named to the all-district second team for Division IV last year as a linebacker. He currently has five Division I offers from Kentucky, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Kentucky and Ball State.
14. Jacob Savage, LB, Ryle
Savage was a prolific defensive player for Ryle during his sophomore season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker recorded 163 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Savage has received offers from Louisville, Indiana, Miami of Ohio, Ohio and Eastern Kentucky so far.
13. Keagen Maher, RB, Cooper
Maher played varsity football as an eighth grader. Last year, he took over the starting running back position at Cooper and starred as Cam O'Hara's running mate. He recorded 1,204 rushing yards (6.5 yards per carry) and 17 rushing touchdowns in 2023, adding 309 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.
12. Grant Nurre, QB, Kings
Nurre, a 6-3 quarterback is still a bit of an unknown on recruiting trails, but he certainly made himself known to opponents of Kings last season. As a sophomore, he threw for 2,282 yards and 23 touchdowns while surrendering just five interceptions.
11. Daniel Vollmer, QB, St. Xavier
Vollmer still hasn't seen the field much at quarterback for St. Xavier, but he's still squarely on the radar of college coaches. He's already received offers from Harvard and Eastern Michigan.
In 2024, Vollmer also received second team all-state honors for Lacrosse.
10. Brady Ballart, LB/RB, South Dearborn
Ballart recorded 64 tackles and seven tackles for loss in his sophomore season at South Dearborn and added more than 600 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns.
Ballart has received offers from four MAC schools, including Miami and Toledo. He's also being recruited by Cincinnati and Wisconsin.
9. Jordan Vann, WR, Middletown
Vann isn't ranked by 247Sports, but he's already received nine Division I offers. Kentucky, Marshall, Duke and Dartmouth have all offered the Middies receiver.
8. Matt Ponatoski, QB, Moeller
Ponatoski put up an incredible sophomore season at Moeller, finishing with a school record 3,334 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns to nine interceptions. He's received offers so far from Cincinnati, Purdue and Vanderbilt.
7. Andre Parker Jr., LB, Princeton
Parker is rated a three-star by On3 , but he's not rated by 247Sports. Still, he's already earned multiple big time offers from schools like Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan State and West Virginia.
6. Sam Hamilton, TE, Moeller
Hamilton is listed at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and is rated the 35th best tight end in the country and 34th best player in Ohio for the class of 2026. Currently he has offers from Kentucky and five Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools, Including Miami, UMass and Toledo.
5. Cooper McCutchan, TE, Moeller
McCutchan comes in just behind Princeton's Landon Miree in recruiting rankings, listed as the 31st best tight end and 28th best Ohio player in the class of 2026 by 247Sports. He has offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Virginia, among others.
4. Landon Miree, TE, Princeton
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound tight end is currently ranked as the 25th best tight end and the 21st best player in Ohio for the class of 2026, according to 247Sports.
He currently has offers from Cincinnati, Florida, Oregon, UCF and Wisconsin, among others.
3. Jakobe Clapper, LB, St. Xavier
Clapper is the 20th best linebacker in the country and the 14th best recruit in Ohio for the class of 2026, according to 247Sports. As a sophomore last season, he recorded 90 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss (TFL), 2.5 sacks and an interception.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound linebacker currently has 22 offers from schools including Cincinnati, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee.
2. Cam O'Hara, QB, Cooper
Cam O'Hara, a three-star recruit, is listed as the 36th best quarterback in the country and the fourth best overall player in Kentucky for the class of 2026.
As a freshman in 2022, Harris threw for 1,510 yards and 16 touchdowns to just three interceptions for Cooper. As a sophomore, he followed that up by throwing for more than 3,300 yards and 47 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. On Sept. 22, 2023, O'Hara threw for 555 yards and six touchdowns in a thrilling 58-51 loss to Highlands.
Heading into his junior year, O'Hara has offers from Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Miami of Ohio.
1. Cam Thomas, Athlete, Lakota West
Cam Thomas is a four-star recruit and the ninth ranked football recruit in Ohio's 2026 class according to 247Sports . He usually plays outside linebacker for Lakota West, taking the role of an edge rusher, but multiple recruiting sources list him as an "athlete," implying that schools are looking at him to play other positions too.
According to 247Sports, Thomas has already received offers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin, among many others.
Note: All recruiting information in this article is sourced from 247Sports . All statistics are sourced from MaxPreps .
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Greater Cincinnati football's top 25 recruits in the class of 2026
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