Kings of Texas? Baylor outpacing both Texas and Texas A&M in the Lone Star State
There aren't too many states that are more serious about high school football than the Lone Star State of Texas. Football is a religion in Texas, and big-time college teams will swarm the state in hopes of bringing the stars to their school.
Powerhouses like Texas and Texas A&M can recruit wherever -- being SEC schools. The Longhorns and Aggies both have pull in Texas, but both teams can go clear to New York if they like a certain prospect all the way east. It's not the same way for other Texas programs like SMU, TCU, Houston, or Baylor.
While the other four are Power Four schools -- they aren't the recruiting juggernauts like the SEC brands. In fact, all four schools are recruiting the state of Texas better than either Texas or Texas A&M currently are. In a recent article by Rivals' Sam Spiegelman, he notes that Texas has 10 in-state commits in the 2026 cycle, and Texas A&M has nine.
Every committed prospect in TCU's class is from Texas; Texas Tech has 16 in-state commits, SMU has 15, Houston has 13, and Baylor has 12 commits from the Lone Star State.
“We try to make our class, our recruiting class, primarily high school players and primarily Texas high school players,” Aranda said at the THSCA convention. “To have a team made up of high school players, especially Texas high school players, is very essential to us.”
The Bears have just four out-of-state commits in the class, and the top of their class is full of Texas prospects. Baylor has four four-stars committed and all four hail from the Lone Star State. Edge Jamarion Carlton, WR Jordan Clay, CB Jamarion Vincent, and WR London Smith are currently the key to the Bears' future. Being from Texas, these recruits know just how big football is down there, and they know what life in the Big 12 Conference is all about.
Baylor will continue to lift rocks to find the hidden gems in Texas, which will either make or break Dave Aranda's tenure in Waco.
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Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.