Baylor Finishes Near the Bottom of On3's Big 12 Final 2026 Recruiting Rankings

Quality over quantity seems to be the message with a small class

Nov 29, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Kobe Prentice (16) reacts after making a catch against Houston Cougars defensive back Will James (15) during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

With National Signing Day passing by, the college football world has officially entered the offseason to prepare for the 2026 season. Before we fully close the book, let’s take a look at where Baylor landed in On3's final team recruiting rankings for Big 12 teams.

Baylor landed at #13 out of 16 teams in the Big 12 conference and their class finished 66th overall according to On3. Leading the way in the conference was Texas Tech as their class was headlined by two five-stars and six four-stars, with an overall grade of 89.48.

Following the 2025 Big 12 champions were the West Virginia Mountaineers (89.15), BYU Cougars (88.70), Arizona State Sun Devils (87.80) and the Houston Cougars (87.77). It’s a disappointing result for Dave Aranda and the staff after finishing 39th in the 2026 rankings.

Did recruits see the writing on the wall?

It's possible that higher-ranked recruits see the writing on the wall with Aranda entering the 2026 season on the hot seat following their third losing record (5-7) in the four years under Aranda. It’s put up or shut up time in Waco and they will have their work cut out for them in a difficult conference.

To add salt to the wound, the Big 12 gave no favors to Baylor with a schedule that includes road trips to Arizona State, BYU and Houston while hosting Texas Tech.

A look at the 2026 class

Baylor’s 2026 class is headlined by four-star running back Ryelan Morris of Honey Grove, Texas. Joining Morris on the offensive side is Donel Robinson (interior offensive line), London Smith (wide receiver), Davion Peters (wide receiver), Kai Wesley (tight end), Quinn Murphy (quarterback), Parker Almanza (tight end) and HD Davis (running back).

Joining the program on the defensive side is Jae’Lin Battle (defensive line), Jamarion Richardson (cornerback), Jordan Davis (safety), Jamarion Phillips (linebacker), Tyrone Morgan (edge rusher) and Jahiem Porter (linebacker). The class finishes with a rating of 85.59, a 14% blue chip rate and 71% of the commits hail from the Lone Star state.

The remainder of the top 10 in the rankings included TCU at #6 followed by Kansas State, Arizona, Utah and Kansas. Iowa State and Cincinnati edged Baylor for #11-12 and UCF, Colorado and Oklahoma State finished behind the Bears.

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