Highest-rated Class of 2026 football recruits from Indiana

The recruiting race for the Class of 2026 is already heating up — not just on the field, but in the increasingly complex ecosystem of modern college football, where NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals are reshaping how programs and players navigate early recruitment. For elite underclassmen, talent alone is no longer the only factor drawing attention; marketability, social media presence, and brand potential are now playing pivotal roles in how offers are extended and decisions are made. The top recruits in the 2026 cycle are not only physically advanced and highly skilled — they’re entering high school with endorsement potential and media savviness.

Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated Class of 2026 football recruits from Indiana using data from 247Sports. Here’s the players from Indiana set to dominate Saturdays (and potentially Sundays) for years to come.

#20. Tyler Klaner (TE)

– National rank: #1,332 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #65

– College: Northern Illinois

– Offers: Northern Illinois, Toledo

– High school: Boonville (Boonville, IN)

#19. Anthony Coellner (QB)

– National rank: #1,303 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #99

– College: not committed

– Offers: Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Indiana, Maryland, Miami (OH)

– High school: Carmel (Carmel, IN)

#18. Dominick Barry (TE)

– National rank: #1,300 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #63

– College: not committed

– Offers: Kansas, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana

– High school: Center Grove (Greenwood, IN)

#17. Deacon King (S)

– National rank: #1,235 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #110

– College: not committed

– Offers: Akron, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Kent State

– High school: Westfield (Westfield, IN)

#16. Brady Ballart (LB)

– National rank: #1,150 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #95

– College: Louisville

– Offers: Louisville, Air Force, Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan

– High school: South Dearborn (Aurora, IN)

#15. Brock Brownfield (IOL)

– National rank: #1,096 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #92

– College: Purdue

– Offers: Purdue, Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana, Miami (OH)

– High school: New Palestine (New Palestine, IN)

#14. James Williams Jr. (IOL)

– National rank: #983 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #84

– College: Purdue

– Offers: Purdue, Appalachian State, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois

– High school: Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, IN)

#13. Bo Polston (QB)

– National rank: #972 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #64

– College: Toledo

– Offers: Toledo, Akron, Appalachian State, Ball State, Central Michigan

– High school: Decatur Central (Indianapolis, IN)

#12. Malachi Mills (OT)

– National rank: #950 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #76

– College: Kansas

– Offers: Kansas, Akron, Colorado State, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic

– High school: Westfield (Westfield, IN)

#11. Benjamin Novak (IOL)

– National rank: #928 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #83

– College: Wisconsin

– Offers: Wisconsin, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana

– High school: Andrean (Merrillville, IN)

#9 (tie). Blake Smythe (DL)

– National rank: #914 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #92

– College: Indiana

– Offers: Indiana, Ball State, Illinois, Kansas, Louisville

– High school: Franklin Community (Franklin, IN)

#9 (tie). Carsen Eloms (CB)

– National rank: #914 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #79

– College: Wisconsin

– Offers: Wisconsin, Purdue, Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan

– High school: Fishers (Fishers, IN)

#8. Trevor Gibbs (LB)

– National rank: #855 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #67

– College: Indiana

– Offers: Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati, Iowa, Ball State

– High school: Crown Point (Crown Point, IN)

#7. Terry Walker III (QB)

– National rank: #817 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #47

– College: Duke

– Offers: Duke, Appalachian State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina

– High school: Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, IN)

#6. Tayshon Bardo (WR)

– National rank: #703 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #107

– College: Wisconsin

– Offers: Wisconsin, USF, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan

– High school: Penn (Mishawaka, IN)

#5. Jett Goldsberry (ATH)

– National rank: #682 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #44

– College: not committed

– Offers: North Carolina, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Purdue, Air Force

– High school: Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, IN)

#4. Kasmir Hicks (CB)

– National rank: #509 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #41

– College: Indiana

– Offers: Indiana, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Ball State, Central Michigan

– High school: Decatur Central (Indianapolis, IN)

#3. Tyler Ruxer (TE)

– National rank: #477 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #24

– College: not committed

– Offers: Minnesota, Purdue, Duke, Northwestern, Baylor

– High school: Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, IN)

#2. JJ Finch (DL)

– National rank: #443 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #50

– College: not committed

– Offers: Purdue, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Central Michigan

– High school: Warren Central (Indianapolis, IN)

#1. Jerquaden Guilford (WR)

– National rank: #430 (3 stars)

– Position rank: #67

– College: not committed

– Offers: Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, Georgia

– High school: Northrop (Fort Wayne, IN)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Five members of the 2025 Florida Atlantic softball team were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. The accolade recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
 
Ainsley Lambert, Kiley Channell, Kylie Hammonds, Gabby Sacco, and Kiley Shelton have received the prestigious nod for their strong performances on the diamond and in the classroom.
 
Lambert was on top of the NCAA during her senior campaign, leading the nation with 11 saves. She went 7-1 over the course of the season with an ERA of 2.20 on the way to the American Athletic Conference’s second team. As a double major in public administration and communications, Lambert tallied a cumulative GPA of 3.77.
 
Sophomore Channell started 56 games at shortstop and earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team after leading the back-to-back AAC regular season champion Owls (45-12) with 14 doubles. She also set the individual single-game program record with a five-hit performance on May 2 versus Tulsa. Channell, a pre-business major, has a cumulative GPA of 3.7.
 
Hammonds, a redshirt sophomore outfielder, had a breakout campaign as the Owls’ leadoff hitter. As another All-AAC Second Team selection, she reached base safely in 53 out of 57 games and in her final 26 appearances of the season. Hammonds led FAU in on-base percentage (.515), runs (54), walks (33), and hit-by-pitches (14). In the classroom, the communication studies major has built a cumulative GPA of 3.56.
 
Senior pitcher Gabby Sacco concluded her fourth and final season with Florida Atlantic making 22 appearances in the circle and owning a 7-2 record. This season, she recorded her second career no-hitter against Missouri State on Feb. 8. As a communications major, Sacco owns a cumulative GPA of 3.85.
 
In her first season as an Owl, sophomore Kiley Shelton batted for a .312 and tallied 11 doubles along with 22 RBI. She saved her best for last, earning an AAC Honorable Mention in the final week of the regular season and then delivering the walk-off RBI single to give FAU its first NCAA Regional victory since 2016. Shelton is majoring in exercise science and health promotion with a GPA of 3.82.
 
FOLLOW THE OWLS
To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.
 

One of college basketball’s highest-paid players last season, former Duke star Cooper Flagg’s estimated NIL contracts were staggering, according longtime sports journalist and author Howard Bryant. During a recent sitdown with Bob Costas at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Howard asked his co-host how much much Flagg earned in NIL at Duke.

Costas was unsure, but then Howard provided an answer that resulted in an audible gasp from the audience — $28 million.

“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said at the 51:09 mark of the conversation.

Here’s the thing — Howard’s reported total is likely Flagg’s NIL contracts in totality and not an annual payment. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported Flagg’s New Balance agreement was “significant.” These are often multi-year contracts between incoming rookies and sneaker companies.

Flagg’s massive deal with New Balance ahead of his first season in the NBA makes him one of the brand’s newest signature athletes. Flagg signed his multi-year partnership with Fanatics in January, but terms of the deal were not released.

Other exclusive Fanatics athletes include Victor Wembanyama, Paul Skenes, and CJ Stroud. Flagg’s first “rookie” card is part of the 2025 Bowman University Chrome set, which is put out by Fanatics.

Flagg’s previous estimated NIL valuation of around $5 million with the Blue Devils during his only season of college basketball was the leading number in the sport, so to think he was bringing in more than five times that number in a single season is almost unfathomable.

Regardless, the market value for the projected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft is real.

Flagg earned national player of the year accolades last season after averaging a team-best 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, leading Duke to the NCAA Tournament’s final weekend.

Costas used Howard’s staggering figure to get on his soap box of sorts to make a broader point.

“That’s why, at least, it’s more profitable for a woman … a female college basketball player to stay in college and collect the NIL because, because for the time being, the top salary in the WNBA is like $75,000,” Costas said. “Now, it will go up a bit and if you’re Caitlin Clark it doesn’t matter and a few others because their deals carry over, but something that used to always bothered me when this convesation was going on before NIL, people would say, ‘Everybody is profiting off of this except for the athletes.’

“That implicitly says this whole thing is a sham and that the education itself has no value. So, if this student-athlete attends class, he could very well be sitting next to someone whose parents worked multiple jobs to put that boy or girl and their siblings through college. (And) that’s something that might be a present, at some universities worth on a four-year ride, $300.000. Not to mention what it means down the road for your earning power.”

Costas later said fans who are disparaging NIL numbers were “okay with the corruption” but not okay with the chaos these figures have caused in recruiting and player retention.