Washington’s Top 20: Where the state’s best football recruits are headed
Will they be Huskies, Cougars, Ducks, Beavers or head elsewhere around the country? The Top 20 high school football recruits in Washington from the 2026 class have signed with college football programs (one is walking on). Here’s where they’re headed.
Note: These are the top 20 ranked players in Washington, per 247sports.com’s composite rankings. The rankings are an average ranking of the major recruiting services rankings, pulling from 247’s in-house rankings, as well as ESPN and On3 (Rivals).
1. EDGE Derek Colman-Brusa, Kennedy Catholic (Burien)
Composite ranking: Four-star
Signed to: Washington
2. LB Ramzak Fruean, Bethel (Spanaway)
Composite ranking: Four-star
Signed to: Washington
3. TE Henry Gabalis, Archbishop Murphy (Everett)
Composite ranking: Four-star
Signed to: Arizona
4. TE Jack Sievers, Archbishop Murphy (Everett)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Wisconsin
5. DL David Schwerzel, O’Dea (Seattle)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Washington
6. EDGE Fameitau Siale, O’Dea (Seattle)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Utah
7. ATH Lance McGee, Sumner (Sumner)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Washington State
8. CB Elijah Durr, Mount Tahoma (Tacoma)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Washington
9. EDGE Prin Fox, Cashmere (Cashmere)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: UNLV
10. LB Wassie Lugolobi, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Stanford
11. EDGE Robby Lavata’i, Curtis (University Place)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: San Diego State
12. OT Hakeim Smalls, Archbishop Murphy (Everett)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Boise State
13. ATH Asa Thompson, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Preferred walk-on: Washington
14. ATH Terrance Saryon, Evergreen (Vancouver)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: BYU
15. EDGE Adel Dorr, Issaquah (Issaquah)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Oregon State
16. ATH Darren Schmitt, Evergreen (Vancouver)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Nevada
17. LB Colby Johnson, Eastlake (Sammamish)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Colorado
18. DL Ta’a Malu, Annie Wright (Tacoma)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Washington
19. IOL Kingston Fotualii, O’Dea (Seattle)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Iowa State
20. IOL Ah Deong Yang, Puyallup (Puyallup)
Composite ranking: Three-star
Signed to: Washington
GOOD CLASS FOR UW COACH JEDD FISCH
Kennedy Catholic coach Pat Jones has a barn that sits on his property. It has been finished, a sort of remodeled man-cave/football coaching office.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia — who was the DC for New England when the Patriots beat Seattle in the Super Bowl — spent some time there hanging out with Jones in November.
Ohio State, and big-time programs all over the country, sent the big guns to try to sway four-star lineman Derek Colman-Brusa to their schools.
But in the end, Colman-Brusa opted to stay home and play with his older brother, Lowen, at Washington. A week after Patricia’s visit, he committed to UW.
It’s a major recruiting win for third-year Huskies’ coach Jedd Fisch, who is entering what feels like a “prove it” year in the Big Ten after rebuilding Washington’s roster the past two seasons in the wake of Kalen DeBoer’s departure to Alabama.
Fisch also signed the state’s consensus No. 2 recruit in Bethel linebacker Ramzak Fruean, who follows in the footsteps of former teammate Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who was all over the field making plays as a true freshman on Montlake last fall.
In total, Fisch reeled in seven of the state’s Top 20 recruits in this year’s class. Will they be wearing purple and gold two years from now, when another program offers a pile of cash in the transfer portal? That remains to be seen in today’s Wild West world of college football, but the momentum certainly can’t hurt a program that wants to take the next step into the Big Ten’s top tier.
OTHER NOTES
- New Washington State head coach Kirby Moore pulled off a significant recruiting win early on, signing former Oregon State commit Lance McGee after the TNT’s state player of the year decommitted from the Beavers. McGee, who transferred from Davis (Yakima) to Sumner for his senior season, rushed for 2,489 yards and 42 touchdowns on 251 carries in 2025, leading Sumner to back-to-back Class 4A state titles. He put together what was perhaps the most impressive season from a running back since former NFL player Jonathan Stewart walked the halls of Timberline High School.
- Archbishop Murphy, which beat Tumwater in the Class 2A state championship game, has returned to form as a football powerhouse. It had three of the state’s Top 12 recruits this year, including four-star tight end Henry Gabalis, who 247sports.com national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman called a “steal” for Arizona.
- Derek Colman-Brusa, Ramzak Fruean and Henry Gabalis are part of The News Tribune’s 2026 class of Northwest Nuggets — the region’s top football recruits. This year, eight seniors from Washington, Oregon and Idaho made the list. The TNT has been producing Northwest Nuggets — the longest-running recruiting package on the West Coast — since 1988. Including the 2026 class, 410 players have been honored, including 264 from Washington, 109 from Oregon, 31 from Idaho, five from Alaska and one from British Columbia.
