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  • David SchoenfieldJul 31, 2025, 07:00 PM ET

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    • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
    • Former deputy editor of Page 2
    • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

This year’s MLB trade deadline didn’t have star players on the move — like Juan Soto in 2022 — or the volume of last year — when there were 68 trades on deadline day — but, as usual, the 6 p.m. ET cutoff went down with a flurry of activity.

We did have two shocking trades: The Astros brought back former star Carlos Correa while the Athletics traded closer Mason Miller to the Padres for Leo De Vries, one of the best prospects in the game. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, still rehabbing in the minors, went from Cleveland to Toronto, while the Orioles and Diamondbacks were busy as expected. And the Twins? Well, we’ll get to them.

Who came out on top as the biggest winners of the deadline? And who were the biggest losers, leaving much to be desired? Let’s dig in.

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Winners | Losers

The Mariners acquired the two best hitters to move at the deadline in Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor in two separate trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks — and remarkably didn’t have to give up any of their top 10 prospects to do so. That’s some crackerjack dealing from president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who has always been an aggressive trader but has also been limited through the years by a stingy ownership group that has capped the Mariners’ payroll. Given the approval to add some dollars, Dipoto has now constructed one of the best lineups in the majors with the top home run duo in Cal Raleigh and Suarez.

The Mariners have had just one playoff appearance since 2001, having missed the postseason by one win each of the past two seasons after making it in 2022, so there certainly was an urgency to go big in a season where the American League is so wide open. They’re still battling for a wild-card spot and trying to chase down the Houston Astros in the AL West, so October is no guarantee, and they’ll need to get more consistency from a rotation that was among the best in the majors in 2024 but ranks 14th in the majors in ERA this season (and 23rd on the road).

The only knock on Seattle’s deadline: Dipoto had said he wanted to add an impact reliever, and while he did get lefty Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting a high-leverage setup guy for Andres Munoz would have capped an even better trade deadline.

Other winners

San Diego Padres

The Padres’ deadline began with the shocking trade of top prospect Leo De Vries for A’s closer Mason Miller, which led to speculation that general manager AJ Preller was in the midst of a complicated scheme where he would then trade Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez to replace the prospects he just traded.

Nope. The Padres were all-in, later adding Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano from the Baltimore Orioles and catcher Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals. Just like that, the Padres addressed all three of their glaring holes — left field, DH and catcher — while also adding one of the game’s premier relievers. Indeed, already possessing arguably the game’s best bullpen, the Padres now look like the team you won’t want to play in October, when they’ll run out one dominant reliever after another, inning after inning. The offense is now improved as well. Of course, they still have to get there, but this is a team that now looks capable of chasing down the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West title, which San Diego last won in 2006.

Philadelphia Phillies

With an aging roster and three starting pitchers who are crushing it right now in Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, the Phillies are absolutely in full-throttle win-now mode, and getting Jhoan Duran addresses their biggest Achilles’ heel. Jordan Romano and his 6.81 ERA leads the team with eight saves. They’ll get Jose Alvarado back from his PED suspension but he’s ineligible for the postseason. Phillies fans don’t need to be reminded of the 2023 NLCS (when Craig Kimbrel lost two games) or last year’s NLDS (when Jeff Hoffman lost twice).

In Duran, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acquires not only an immediate upgrade for his closer but also a long-term solution, since Duran is under team control through 2027. It cost the Phillies their No. 4 and 5 prospects in catcher Eduardo Tait and pitcher Mick Abel, but Tait is still just 18 years old and years away from the majors while Abel scuffled a bit in six starts with the Phillies. With the need to improve their high-leverage relief, this was a deal the Phillies had to make. In a second trade with the Minnesota Twins, Dombrowski also added useful outfielder Harrison Bader, who provides a needed right-handed bat and could end up as the regular in center field if he keeps hitting like he did with Minnesota.

New York Mets

The Mets bullpen had been struggling for two months — at least, aside from Edwin Diaz, who has been lights out of late. So president of baseball operations David Stearns used the deadline to remake it, turning it into what, at least on paper, now looks like one of the best in the game. Tyler Rogers is unconventional with his underhand delivery and men’s league velocity, but he gets batters to pound that sinker into the ground and he’s been one of the top relievers this season with a 1.80 ERA. Ryan Helsley and Gregory Soto provide a power arsenal from the right and left sides, respectively.

With Diaz, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley already on the roster, this pen is now loaded. October baseball is a different game than the regular season: There are more days off, which makes it even easier to go heavy on the bullpen. We’ve seen the Atlanta Braves in 2021, the Houston Astros in 2022 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 win the World Series on the backs of their bullpens. The deals cost the Mets two of their top-10 prospects in infielder Jesus Baez (No. 5) and outfielder Drew Gilbert (No. 7), plus pitcher Blade Tidwell, who was No. 10 on Baseball America’s list. Dombrowski and Stearns have shown why they’re regarded as two of the top executives in the game — they’re not afraid to make a bold move, acting a day before the deadline to ensure they got the top relievers available.

To cap it off, the Mets added center fielder Cedric Mullins, who gives them more offense than Tyrone Taylor but less defense. That will probably turn into a platoon situation or allow the Mets to spread out some DH at-bats to Juan Soto. Nothing wrong with improving the depth.

Houston Astros

The Astros added Carlos Correa to play third base, outfielder Jesus Sanchez to give them a much-needed left-handed bat and utility infielder Ramon Urias. They’re getting shortstop Jeremy Pena back on Friday, so suddenly the lineup is much improved compared to the stopgap group Houston has been running out there for much of July.

Correa looms as one of the key players these final two months as the Astros look to hold off the Mariners and Texas Rangers in the AL West. He hasn’t been an impact hitter in 2025, batting .267/.319/.386 with just seven home runs in 93 games, but he’s one season removed from a 151 OPS+, when his OPS was 200 points higher than it is this year. It will be fascinating to see what happens in his return to Houston.

The Astros have one of the best late-game bullpens in the majors and one of the best 1-2 starting pitcher duos in Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. They’ve been winning without Yordan Alvarez. They don’t necessarily need a great offense with their pitching, but they have a better one with Correa, Sanchez (.814 OPS against right-handers) and Urias.

Athletics

The Mason Miller-for-Leo De Vries trade was one of the more shocking we’ve seen in years, not just because top-100 overall prospects are rarely traded at the deadline — let alone a consensus top-five prospect in De Vries — but because the A’s got him for a reliever. Yes, a very good one in Miller, who the San Diego Padres might try as a starter next season, but any time you can flip a reliever for a potential superstar, you make the move.

At 18 years old, De Vries is holding his own in High-A, with an OPS 60 points above the Midwest League average despite being the youngest player in the league (and one of just two teenage position players). You could say he’s where Carlos Correa or Francisco Lindor were at this age, although you could just as easily point to a long list of hyped teenagers who didn’t make it. Still, everybody thinks De Vries is the real deal and his precocious results suggest he should develop into at least an above-average regular. This a potential franchise-altering move.

New York Yankees

General manager Brian Cashman promised the Yankees were going to “go to town” this deadline. They added third baseman Ryan McMahon, infielders Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario, closer David Bednar, outfielder Austin Slater and relievers Jake Bird and Camilo Doval, which is … a lot of pieces. But is that going to town? McMahon could end up as one of the sleeper acquisitions of the deadline, as escaping Colorado for a more analytical organization could be good for the psyche and the numbers. Caballero gives them an option to play shortstop over the struggling Anthony Volpe or at least gives them one of the best basestealers in the game.

But the Yankees didn’t get Eugenio Suarez or Jhoan Duran or a starting pitcher.

Bottom line: This was hardly the Death Star approach we always expect from the Yankees — but, really, they haven’t operated like that in a long time. Their biggest deadline moves in recent years were Jazz Chisholm Jr. last year and Andrew Benintendi in 2022. Don’t remind Yankees fans of Joey Gallo in 2021. They have dramatically improved their depth and versatility, so we’ll call them winners, but did they do enough to chase down the Toronto Blue Jays in the division?

What a sad, brutal day to be a Twins fan. Gone this deadline period: Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Brock Stewart and Chris Paddack. That’s nine players off the 26-man roster, including the backend of a championship-caliber bullpen. At least they kept Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton.

Sure, some of those guys — Bader and Castro in particular — were heading to free agency. It’s more the messaging here: We’re cheap and we don’t care about winning. Was that likely this season? Probably not, as the Twins are 5½ games out of the wild-card race. But it wasn’t an impossible idea. One hot streak and they’re right back in it. Is it likely next year? Probably not now. The Twins will need to build an entire bullpen from scratch, for starters. They have one legitimate star position player in Buxton and he has trouble staying healthy.

Did they do well in the trades? Time will tell, but it’s not like they loaded up on top-100 prospects or anything like that. Catcher Eduardo Tait is the most interesting prospect they got, but he’s an 18-year-old in High-A and likely years away from making an impact. It’s possible the Twins — if they spend some of the savings on trading Correa’s contract — can reallocate their resources to build a more competitive, well-rounded team. It’s also possible, with the team for sale, that the Twins are entering a Rays- or Pirates-like era of frugality, pocketing more profits while the losses pile up.

This Twins era began with a 101-win team in 2019. They signed Correa in 2022, but the Correa era will have produced just one playoff season in four years. It might be a few years before the Twins are even thinking of the playoffs again. Twins fans can only hope that assessment is wrong.

Other losers

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs weren’t inactive — they added third baseman/utilityman Willi Castro and a couple marginal pitchers in Michael Soroka and Andrew Kittredge — but it was a surprisingly non-aggressive deadline for a team battling the Brewers for the National League Central title. No Eugenio Suarez. No impact starting pitcher like Merrill Kelly. None of the impact relievers who exchanged teams. The Cubs have a pretty good farm system, so had the resources to make a trade for one of those players, but erred on the side of caution. We’ll see if that costs them a division title or haunts them in October.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox added pitchers Dustin May and Steven Matz. Meh. May had a 4.85 ERA while starting for the Dodgers. Matz had a 3.44 ERA pitching in relief for the St. Louis Cardinals. Both have some utility — May gives them a rotation option and Matz has been a multi-inning reliever — but don’t really alter Boston’s playoff odds, especially factoring in the moves the Yankees and Blue Jays made or even the Tampa Bay Rays adding a couple higher-impact pitchers in Adrian Houser and Griffin Jax.

The Red Sox could have traded for a first baseman or gotten creative and dealt from their logjam of outfielders. It’s understandable why they didn’t want to do that now, given they’ve gone 17-7 in July. Why mess with that momentum? Still, a better starting pitcher than May or an impact reliever would have helped.

Cincinnati Reds

We applaud the Reds for making a couple of deals — after all, they haven’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2013 — but Ke’Bryan Hayes and Zack Littell are odd fits. As my colleague Brad Doolittle wrote, Hayes is a terrific defensive third baseman but hits like a 1970s shortstop (he has the lowest slugging percentage of any player with 600 plate appearances over the past two seasons). The Reds will try Noelvi Marte in right field to clear space for Hayes, but given that Marte had zero experience in the outfield until 11 days ago, the gains Hayes provides on defense might be offset by Marte in right field. Yes, this can be viewed as a long-term deal as much as a win-now move since Hayes is signed through 2029, but once his defense slips even a little, he’ll be unplayable.

Littell is a strange acquisition as well since the rotation has been a strength for the Reds and his home run tendencies — he leads the majors in homers allowed — are an especially bad fit for the cozy confines of Great American Ballpark. He’s allowed just 21 walks in 22 starts, so at least the plus-plus command eliminates some of the damage of the home runs. But Littell doesn’t look like an upgrade over what the Reds already have and, unlike Hayes, he’s a free agent after the season.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers were busy adding pitching at the deadline — with starters Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton and relievers Kyle Finnegan, Paul Sewald, Rafael Montero and Codi Heuer — but that group doesn’t do much to address the bullpen problems that have plagued the Tigers for two months and Paddack or Morton merely replaces the injured Reese Olson without providing an upgrade.

Granted, with a comfortable nine-game lead in the AL Central and their division rivals not doing anything to improve, the Tigers weren’t under any intense pressure to improve. Still, in a season where the AL is so wide open, it was a disappointingly conservative approach to the trade deadline, especially since Detroit has one of the top farm systems in the majors. The Tigers didn’t have to trade Kevin McGonigle or Max Clark or Bryce Rainer to get better, but they should have at least added an impact reliever.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers are hardly losers in the big picture, as this is arguably the best team in baseball, and you can argue they already made their two big additions with the return of Brandon Woodruff a couple weeks ago and the June call-up of flame-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski. It’s also true that their needs — a power bat for the lineup — didn’t match what was available, although Eugenio Suarez would have been a nice addition.

They did get reliever Shelby Miller from the D-backs, who is having a good year, but the Brewers already had one of the best bullpens in the majors. And if Andrew Vaughn keeps hitting, they’ll be OK at first base — though, he was terrible for the Chicago White Sox prior to the Brewers getting him for a song. Ryan O’Hearn would also have been a nice addition, capable of playing first base or the outfield and improving the bench, but he was dealt to the San Diego Padres. The Brewers are battling the Cubs for the division title — and avoiding that wild-card series will be huge. We’ll see if the Brewers can do that without making any major deals.

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Stanford hires former Nike CEO Donahoe as AD

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August 2, 2025

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Stanford hires former Nike CEO Donahoe as AD

  • Seth Wickersham

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    Seth Wickersham

    ESPN Senior Writer

    • Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
    • Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
    • Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.

Jul 31, 2025, 11:10 PM ET

Stanford has hired former Nike CEO John Donahoe as the school’s new athletic director, the university announced Thursday.

Donahoe, 65, will arrive in the collegiate athletic director space with a vast swath of business experience, as Stanford officials viewed him as a “unicorn candidate” because of both his business ties and history at the school. Stanford coveted a nontraditional candidate for the role, and Donahoe’s hire delivers a seasoned CEO with stints at Nike, Bain & Company and eBay. He also served as the board chair of PayPal.

He also brings strong Stanford ties as a 1986 MBA graduate. He has had two stints on the Stanford business school’s advisory board, including currently serving in that role.

“My north star for 40 years has been servant leadership, and it is a tremendous honor to be able to come back to serve a university I love and to lead Stanford Athletics through a pivotal and tumultuous time in collegiate sports,” Donahoe said in a statement. “Stanford has enormous strengths and enormous potential in a changing environment, including being the model for achieving both academic and athletic excellence at the highest levels. I can’t wait to work in partnership with the Stanford team to build momentum for Stanford Athletics and ensure the best possible experiences for our student-athletes.”

Donahoe replaces Bernard Muir, who announced in February that he was stepping down after serving in that role since 2012. Alden Mitchell has been the school’s interim athletic director.

The hire is a head-turning one for Stanford, bringing in someone with Donahoe’s high-level business experience. And it comes at a time when the athletic department has struggled in its highest-profile sports, as football is amid four consecutive 3-9 seasons and the men’s basketball team hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2014.

In hiring Donahoe, Stanford is aiming for someone who can find an innovative way to support general manager Andrew Luck and the football program while also figuring out a sustainable model for the future of Stanford’s Olympic sports.

“Stanford occupies a unique place in the national athletics landscape,” university president Jonathan Levin said in a statement. “We needed a distinctive leader — someone with the vision, judgment, and strategic acumen for a new era of college athletics, and with a deep appreciation for Stanford’s model of scholar-athlete excellence. John embodies these characteristics. We’re grateful he has agreed to lead Stanford Athletics through this critical period in college sports.”

Stanford’s Olympic sports remain the best in the country, as Stanford athletes or former athletes accounted for 39 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. If Stanford were a country, it would have tied with Canada for the 11th-most medals. Stanford has also won 26 of the possible 31 director’s cups for overall athletic success in college, including a 25-year streak from 1995 to 2019.

School officials approached Donahoe in recent weeks about the position, with both Levin and former women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer among the chief recruiters. Donahoe has a long-standing relationship with both, as he maintained strong ties to the school throughout his career.

Sources said Luck will report to Donahoe. Luck spent time with him in the interview process and is excited to work with him, sources said. It’s also a change from the prior structure, as upon Luck’s hiring he had been slated to report to Levin.

“I am absolutely thrilled John Donahoe is joining as our next athletic director,” Luck said in a statement. “He brings unparalleled experience and elite leadership to our athletic department in a time of opportunity and change. I could not be more excited to partner with and learn from him.”

Stanford is set to begin a football season in which it is picked to finish last in the 17-team ACC. Former NFL coach Frank Reich is the interim coach, and both sides have made clear this is a definitive interim situation and that he won’t return after the 2025 season.

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Iowa State extends Campbell, bumps pay to $5M

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August 2, 2025

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Iowa State extends Campbell, bumps pay to M

  • Max OlsonAug 1, 2025, 04:59 PM ET

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    • Covers the Big 12
    • Joined ESPN in 2012
    • Graduate of the University of Nebraska

Iowa State and coach Matt Campbell have finalized a contract extension through 2032 after the winningest coach in program history led the Cyclones to their first-ever 11-win season in 2024.

Campbell will earn $5 million per year in total compensation, according to a copy of the contract obtained by ESPN on Friday. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year honoree took a discount on the deal, sources told ESPN, to ensure that his staff salary pool increased and to allow Iowa State to allocate an additional $1 million to revenue-sharing funds for its football roster.

Campbell earned $4 million in 2024 while leading the Cyclones to a Big 12 championship game appearance, an 11-3 record and a No. 15 finish in the AP poll. He’s entering his 10th season in Ames and has won a school record of 64 games during his tenure.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders will be the Big 12’s highest-paid head coach this year at $10 million after landing a five-year, $54 million contract extension in March. Campbell’s new salary will not rank among the top five in the conference, but he prioritized maximizing Iowa State’s ability to invest in its football roster following a historic season.

Campbell, 45, told ESPN in July at Big 12 media days that “probably our top 20 guys took a pay cut to come back to Iowa State” for 2025, relative to what they could’ve earned in NIL compensation by entering the transfer portal.

The head coach’s deal includes performance incentives based on the Cyclones’ regular-season record, starting at $250,000 for seven wins and climbing to $1.5 million for a 12-0 season. He’ll earn at least $100,000 for a Big 12 title game appearance and up to $500,000 for a Big 12 championship. The deal also permits him to distribute up to $100,000 of his performance incentive earnings each year to his football staff.

If Campbell accepts another Power 4 head coaching job before the end of his contract, his buyout would be $2 million. He would not owe liquidated damages if he departs for an NFL coaching opportunity. Campbell interviewed with the Chicago Bears in January during the organization’s head coaching search.

Campbell surpassed Dan McCarney as the program’s winningest head coach last season and has led the Cyclones to bowl games in seven of the past eight seasons, including a Fiesta Bowl victory and a top-10 finish in 2020.

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What you missed from college football recruiting this summer

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August 2, 2025

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What you missed from college football recruiting this summer

  • Eli LedermanAug 2, 2025, 07:33 AM ET

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      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

The busiest 60 days of the annual recruiting calendar are officially behind us. And while another four months still remain before the December early signing period, college football’s top programs have already wrapped up the majority of their business in the 2026 cycle.

Per ESPN Research, a total of 155 prospects in the 2026 ESPN 300 made commitments in an avalanche of summer recruiting business from June 1 to July 31. In the wake of that, only 16 uncommitteds remain in the ESPN 300 as of Saturday morning. Within that group are just nine top-100 recruits, with five-star defensive end Jake Kreul, No. 2 running back Savion Hiter and No. 2 defensive tackle Deuce Geralds among those expected to come off the board in August.

More settled by this point of the cycle than any other in recent memory, college football’s 2026 class is unfolding against the backdrop of yet another moment of change in the sport. The House settlement and earliest ebbs of college athletics’ revenue sharing era have already shaped the 2026 cycle, and their effects will continue to ripple across the class until February’s national signing day.

As the recruiting trail prepares to take a (relative) back seat to fall camp practices, here’s a look at how the cycle played out this summer and what could come next for the class of 2026:

Revenue sharing and a new era in recruiting

The House settlement, which now permits schools to pay their athletes directly, among other sweeping changes, officially took effect July 1.

But according to personnel staffers, agents, recruits and parents surveyed by ESPN this month on the condition of anonymity, byproducts of college football’s new reality and the initial revenue sharing cap of $20.5 million across all sports have been steering the 2026 cycle for months. “In the past, collectives would always say we’re only going to offer what we know we can pay you,” a player agent told ESPN. “Now programs know what the budget will be, and harder numbers were discussed earlier than usual. The ability for programs to get those numbers out there early was huge.” As schools prepared roster budgets and braced for post-settlement oversight this spring, a number of Power 4 programs began front-loading their 2025 rosters in the lead-up to July 1.

In some cases, that meant negotiating updated, pre-settlement contracts with transfers and current players, deals that will not count against the post-July 1 revenue share cap. In others, sources told ESPN that programs and collectives found workarounds on the recruiting trail, doling out upfront payments as high as $25,000 per month to committed recruits in the 2026 class, primarily through advantageous high school NIL laws that exist in states such as California, Oregon and Washington.

Those front-loading efforts helped several programs jump out to fast starts in the 2026 cycle. Per sources, the impending arrival of revenue sharing also played a significant role in speeding up the 2026 class this spring. With programs in position to present firmer financial figures, a flurry of elite prospects committed to schools on verbal agreements before July 1.

“People rushed to get deals done pre-House,” a Power 4 personnel staffer told ESPN. “You know there’s only so much money available, and schools let kids know that. The first one to say yes gets it.”

Friday loomed especially large in the short-lived history of the House settlement.

Per the settlement, Aug. 1 was the first official date rising seniors could formally receive written revenue share contracts from programs and NIL collectives, the latter of which will now operate under looser regulation from the newly founded College Sports Commission, per a memo sent to athletic directors on Thursday. Put another way, Aug. 1 was the first day committed prospects and their families could officially learn whether terms they had agreed to earlier this year were legit.

“We’re going to see how serious these schools are,” said the parent of an ESPN 300 quarterback. “I think we might see some kids decommit and find new schools this fall.”

Across the industry, sources believe programs will, for the most part, deliver on the verbal agreements. Multiple agents and personnel staffers told ESPN that a number of programs have also generally ignored the Aug. 1 stipulation across the spring and summer, presenting frameworks of agreements to prospective recruits or flouting the rule entirely. Another question hovering over the months ahead: How much will these agreements do to contain the annual shuffle of flips, decommitments and late-cycle drama in the 2026 class?

“These deals should keep things more in check,” another Power 4 personnel staffer said. “But I’m not naive to think some won’t flip. There’s some snakes out there.”

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No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown commits to LSU

No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown stays home and commits to play for the LSU Tigers.

Where do things stand with the 2026 five-star class?

Oregon offensive tackle commit Immanuel Iheanacho, No. 13 in the 2026 ESPN 300, initially planned to announce his commitment Aug. 5. But, like many of the 2026 five-stars who entered late spring still uncommitted, Iheanacho felt the heat of an accelerated market in June.

“There were a couple of schools I was looking at that asked me to commit early, really wanting to get me in their class,” Iheanacho told ESPN. “Oregon didn’t rush me at all.”

Even so, Iheanacho eventually shifted his commitment timeline forward more than a month. ESPN’s second-ranked offensive line prospect picked the Ducks over Auburn, LSU and Penn State on July 3, landing as one of 11 five-star recruits to commit between June 14 and July 20.

As of Saturday morning, only one of the record 23 five-star prospects in ESPN’s class rankings for 2026 remains uncommitted. LSU secured a class cornerstone and the highest-ranked pledge of the Brian Kelly era in No. 1 overall recruit Lamar Brown on July 10. Meanwhile, Florida (McCoy) and Texas A&M (Arrington) each landed a top-15 defender, Ojo landed a historic deal with Texas Tech, and Texas closed July with the most five-star pledges — four — in the country.

With Kreul, the skilled pass rusher from Florida’s IMG Academy nearing a decision from among Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas, ESPN’s 2026 five-star class could be closed out before Week 0.

No matter how it plays out from here, the cycle’s five-stars are already historically settled. As of Saturday morning, 95.6% of the five-star class is committed among 14 schools across the Power 4 conferences. Per ESPN Research, it’s by far the highest Aug. 1 five-star pledge rate in any cycle since at least 2020. Just over a decade ago, only six of the 20 five-stars (30%) in the 2015 cycle were committed on Aug. 1, 2014; nearly half the class committed after New Year’s Day.

Highest rate of five-star pledges by Aug. 1 since the start of the 2020 cycle

  • 2026: 95.6%

  • 2024: 76.1%

  • 2025: 72.7%

  • 2021: 66.6%

  • 2020: 58.8%

A number of factors — the early signing period, NIL, transfer portal, new rules around recruiting windows and on-campus visits — explain why elite recruiting continues to inch further and further from the traditional February signing day. Amid the fallout of the House settlement, the latest five-star class seemingly received another nudge this summer.

What’s left for the 2026 QB market after summer moves?

The last major quarterback domino in the 2026 class fell July 18 when four-star Landon Duckworth (No. 178 overall) committed to South Carolina. More than four months from the early signing period, the quarterback market in 2026 is effectively closed.

After Ryder Lyons (BYU), Bowe Bentley (Oklahoma) and Jaden O’Neal (Florida State) found homes in June, Duckworth was the last uncommitted ESPN 300 quarterback. Further down the class, several major programs across the Big Ten and SEC dipped into the flip market or outside the top 300 to secure their 2026 quarterback pledge(s) this summer.

Notable quarterback moves since June 1:

Oregon ended its monthslong chase for a quarterback pledge June 25 with former Boise State commit Beaver. One of the cycle’s top summer risers after a standout Elite 11 finals showing, Beaver landed with Ducks coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein over interest Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss in whirlwind, 13-day rerecruitment.

Alabama has five-star freshman Keelon Russell. But still repairing the program’s quarterback pipeline under coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide added two pledges this summer between Thomalla — an Iowa State flip — and Kaawa. Across the state, Auburn and coach Hugh Freeze made their move June 26 flipping Falzone from Penn State before Ohio State (Fahey) and Kentucky (Ponatoski), another pair of quarterback-needy programs, landed pledges in July.

For now, the quarterback class is settled and only so many major programs are still searching in 2026.

Among the 68 Power 4 programs and Notre Dame, only 10 reached August without at least one pledge among the 106 quarterback prospects rated by ESPN: Colorado, Georgia Tech, LSU, Iowa, Iowa State, Maryland, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Who might still be looking within that group?

Colorado (Julian Lewis), Maryland (Malik Washington) and UCLA (Madden Iamaleava) each signed a top-300 quarterback in the 2025 class. With all three programs in the midst of roster rebuilds, none is likely to make a serious push at the position this fall.

With Garrett Nussmeier out of eligibility in 2025, and after the LSU lost No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood to Michigan last fall, the Tigers remain a program to watch in the coming months.

What did ESPN’s top five classes do this summer?

The Trojans got the bulk of their work done on the trail this spring and began June with the most ESPN 300 pledges of any program nationally. That remains the case as USC has bolstered its top-ranked incoming class with five more ESPN 300 pledges over the past eight weeks, adding defenders Talanoa Ili (No. 54 overall), Luke Wafle (No. 104) and Peyton Dyer (No. 269), a July 4 pledge from No. 3 wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster (No. 25) and the commitment of highly regarded four-star offensive guard Breck Kolojay (No. 198) on Friday.

Can USC hold on to secure its first No. 1 class since 2013? Time will tell. Sources told ESPN that the Trojans’ biggest moves in the cycle are likely finished while the program continues to target the tight end and safety positions, but there’s still time for plenty more to unfold this fall.

The Bulldogs went for volume and quality this summer, collecting 19 commitments including 12 from inside the ESPN 300. Georgia continued to build around five-star quarterback Jared Curtis with five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro, top-50 offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko, running back Jae Lamar and pass catchers Brayden Fogle and Craig Dandridge. On the other side of the ball, defensive backs Justice Fitzpatrick, Chase Calicut and Caden Harris, and defensive tackle Pierre Dean Jr. rank among the newest arrivals in an increasingly deep Bulldogs defensive class.

Georgia’s summer wasn’t without a few major misses. Losing out to Texas on No. 1 outside linebacker Tyler Atkinson — a priority in-state target — stung. Top running back Derrek Cooper’s subsequent pledge to the Longhorns marked another blow, as did wide receiver Vance Spafford‘s decision to flip to Miami in late June. But the Bulldogs are loaded up once again on top during this cycle and will hit the fall in line to secure the program’s 10th straight top-three signing class for 2026.

The Aggies landed a key local recruiting win over Texas on June 17 with a commitment from No. 5 running back K.J. Edwards, the state’s No. 6 prospect in 2026. But Texas A&M’s summer of recruiting was defined on defense, where coach Mike Elko is building another monster class.

Five-star athlete Brandon Arrington, who will play defensive back in college, became the program’s top-ranked 2026 pledge on June 19. Behind him, the Aggies have added top-150 defenders Bryce Perry-Wright, Camren Hamiel and Tristian Givens, and top 300 linebacker Daquives Beck since June 1 to a defensive class that features nine ESPN 300 pledges.

Even after narrowly missing on top defenders Lamar Brown (LSU) and Anthony Jones (Oregon) in July, Texas A&M holds one of the nation’s deepest classes and appears poised to contend later this year for its first top-five class since the Aggies went No. 1 in 2022.

It was a five-star bonanza for coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns this summer.

It began with a late-June pledge from Oregon decommit Richard Wesley, ESPN’s No. 3 defensive end. From there, Texas went on to secure its latest pair of recruiting wins over Georgia last month, swooping in to land Atkinson on July 15 before earning Derrek Cooper’s commitment five days later. With No. 1 quarterback Dia Bell already in the fold, the Longhorns have as many five-star pledges in 2026 as the program signed across 11 classes from 2011 to 2021.

Top-50 offensive lineman John Turntine III marked a key addition July 4, and the Longhorns got deeper on defense with commitments from cornerback Samari Matthews and former Georgia defensive tackle pledge James Johnson. But the five-star moves have been the story for Texas this summer, and Sarkisian & Co. might not be done yet with the Longhorns heavily in the mix for Jake Kreul, the last remaining five-star in the 2026 class.

After a productive spring, the Irish landed five ESPN 300 pledges after June 1, plugging the few remaining holes in the program’s 2026 class with a series of elite high school prospects.

Notre Dame landed its top two defensive back commitments within hours of each other on June 20 with pledges from cornerback Khary Adams and Joey O’Brien. On June 26, the Irish secured their highest-ranked tight end commit since the 2021 class in four-star Ian Premer. And in early July, Notre Dame bolstered its wide receiver class with an infusion of talent and NFL pedigree, adding Kaydon Finley (son of Jermichael Finley), Brayden Robinson and Devin Fitzgerald (son of Larry Fitzgerald).

Notre Dame’s trip to last season’s national title game arrived amid the program’s steady rise on the recruiting trail under coach Marcus Freeman. That has continued in 2026, where the Irish are poised to sign more ESPN 300 pledges — 17 — than in any cycle since at least 2006.

Five programs poised to push for a top-five finish this fall

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 6

Only one program can match USC’s count of nine top-100 pledges in 2026: Alabama.

The Crimson Tide’s second class under coach Kalen DeBoer boomed in June and July as the Crimson Tide secured a slew of commitments on defense with five-star safety Jireh Edwards (No. 23 overall), No. 3 outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 30) and defensive ends Nolan Wilson (No. 53) and Jamarion Matthews (No. 92). Priority in-state offensive targets Ezavier Crowell (No. 31) and Cederian Morgan (No. 47) marked two more key additions this summer.

Alabama whiffed on another major in-state recruit Thursday when four-star outside linebacker Anthony Jones, the state’s No. 1 prospect in 2026, committed to Oregon. Jones represented one of the last elite targets on the Crimson Tide’s board. But Alabama has already flipped four Power 4 commits this summer and could continue to climb this fall as long as DeBoer and his staff remain active within the class from now to the early signing period.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 11

LSU enters the month with ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit, a five-star wide receiver in Tristen Keys (No. 10 overall) and 10 total ESPN 300 commits in the program’s incoming recruiting class.

How can the Tigers climb into the upper reaches of the 2026 cycle this fall? First and foremost, they have to hang onto Keys, ESPN’s No. 3 wide receiver. He has been committed to LSU since March 19, but that didn’t keep him from taking multiple official visits in the spring or shield him from serious flips efforts from Miami, Tennessee and Texas A&M this summer.

The Tigers’ battle to keep Keys could stretch all the way to the early signing period.

Sources expect LSU to ramp up its own flip efforts with in-state safety and Ohio State pledge Blaine Bradford (No. 34 overall) in the coming months. The Tigers are also finalists for Deuce Geralds and remain top contenders in the recruitments of offensive linemen Darius Gray (No. 73) and wide receiver Jase Mathews, both of whom are set to commit in August. LSU can’t be counted out from renewing its work in the 2026 quarterback this fall, either.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 7

The defending national champs had a relatively quiet summer atop the 2026 cycle, adding only four ESPN 300 pledges highlighted by the in-state pledges of outside linebacker Cincere Johnson (No. 82 overall) and running back Favour Akih (No. 160). Fahey, ESPN’s No. 28 pocket passer, will pad Ohio State’s future quarterback depth after Air Noland‘s offseason transfer, too.

One priority target who could help push the Buckeyes over the edge is four-star prospect Bralan Womack (No. 32). Ohio State has been consistent a leader in the recruitment of ESPN’s No. 3 safety through the spring and summer, and coach Ryan Day & Co. will have to hold off late pushes from fellow finalists Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M from now until Womack’s Aug. 22 commitment date. The Buckeyes also remain involved in the recruitments of No. 2 running back Savion Hiter and Darius Gray, the nation’s 10th-ranked offensive lineman.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 8

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore has filled out his class with nine ESPN 300 pledges since June 1, headlined by top-100 defender Carter Meadows (No. 88 overall), who trails only quarterback Brady Smigiel (No. 44) among the top prospects pledged to Michigan in 2026.

Who could be next for the Wolverines? Michigan are finalists for ESPN 300 defenders Davon Benjamin (No. 63) and Anthony Davis Jr. (No. 299) with each set for a decision Saturday. More prominently, the Wolverines remain focused on Hiter (No. 24 overall), a top priority for the Michigan staff this summer whose commitment date is set for Aug. 19. The Wolverines also continue to be linked with Syracuse wide receiver pledge Calvin Russell (No. 28). ESPN’s No. 4 wide receiver closed a narrowing process with a commitment to the Orange on July 5, but sources expect Michigan and Miami to remain involved with Russell this fall.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 10

No. 2 outside linebacker Anthony Jones committed to the Ducks on Thursday, joining five-stars Immanuel Iheanacho and Jett Washington in a string of high-profile pledges for Oregon this summer.

Insiders believe the Ducks have backed off at the very top of the 2026 class after spending in the 2025 cycle, but Jones’ pledge could be the first move in a late-summer surge for coach Dan Lanning. Oregon is viewed as the front-runner for both Deuce Geralds and Davon Benjamin as the pair of top-65 prospects prepare to announce their commitments Saturday afternoon. If the Ducks land both, Lanning & Co. could be in position to sign another top-five class by December.

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