Oklahoma State Legacy and Top Recruit Wins State’s Top Prep Player Honor

When Oklahoma State safety Braeden Pressley hits the field later this fall, he’ll do so with some additional hardware.

Bixby's Braeden Presley. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Landing Braeden Presley wasn’t as hard as one might think considering that his brother, Brennan Presley, left Stillwater as the program’s all-time reception leader.

The younger Presley is a safety and he’s preparing for his first fall workouts with the Cowboys in the hope of cracking the two-deep roster and, perhaps, the starting lineup for a program starting over with new head coach Eric Morris.

The coach that recruited Presley, Mike Gundy, is gone. But Morris managed to hang onto the Bixby, Okla., star and earlier this week he was provided a prize that only one in-state player wins every year.

Braeden Presley’s Latest Award

Congratulations to @BraedenPresley on being named the Jim Thorpe Oklahoma High School player of the year! pic.twitter.com/RY89bdrpJe

— BixbySpartanFootball (@BixbySpartanFB) June 25, 2026

Presley was named the Jim Thorpe Oklahoma High School Player of the Year, per Bixby’s social media page. It posted an image of him with the award after the ceremony.

He was a two-way player at Bixby, but he’s listed as a safety on Oklahoma State’s roster. Defensively, he played in 35 games as he finished with 82 total tackles, nine interceptions, 21 pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two pick sixes and a fumble return touchdown.

On the offensive side he was a wide receiver like his older brother. As a wide receiver he caught 59 passes for 986 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also finished his career with 2,219 all-purpose yards as he also rushed 15 carries for 288 yards and two touchdowns, had two pass attempts for two touchdowns, had 51 punt returns for 616 yards and three touchdowns and had 17 kickoff returns for 329 yards.

He helped Bixby win its eighth consecutive state title with a 13-0 record his senior season. That helped him earn first team all-state selection who produced 1,065 all-purpose yards and five interceptions as a senior. That followed his junior year which included another state title and 1,046 all-purpose yards and four interceptions as a junior. While at Bixby he also ran track and had a personal best of 11.01 seconds in the 100 meters. He also ran

Coming out of school he was the nation’s No. 52 safety prospect and the No. 9 prospect in the state per 247Sports.com. He also ran on Bixby’s 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams.

There are already expectations around Presley’s ability to help the Cowboys this season. Lindy’s College Football Preview has him listed as a second-string safety behind transfer Quinton Hammonds. He’s the only freshman listed as a backup on the OSU defensive depth chart per the magazine.