Top high school football recruits from No. 1 Mater Dei at No. 13 St. Thomas Aquinas

First meeting between the super powers from California and Florida on Saturday promises one thing — a field full of future college players

St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback and wide receiver Justice Fitzpatrick. He leads the Raiders in Saturday's national showdown with No. 1 Mater Dei in a game broadcast on ESPN. / Matt Christopher

The first meeting between two of the most storied high school football programs of this century promises to be star-studded. 

That’s the case for any game involving the Monarchs of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.). 

The 2025 powers, ranked nationally No. 1 (Mater Dei) and No. 13 (St. Thomas Aquinas), meet 7 p.m. Saturday (EST) in Bradenton as part of ESPN’s High School Kickoff. 

Mater Dei is the two-time defending CIF California Open Division champion, not to mention the national champions, according to High School On SI. 

This game will go a long way in determining if the Monarchs will three-peat. 

With a new starting quarterback, either highly regarded Wisconsin bound Ryan Hopkins or last year’s backup, junior Furian Inferrera (Minnesota commit), the Monarchs will no doubt have some adjustments early on. 

The Raiders, after an unprecedented seventh straight state title, have their own challenges after being hit hard by graduation. As usual, like the Monarchs, they simply reload. 

The two teams have combined to go 245-22 over the last 10 seasons combined.

Here’s a capsule look at the top college recruits from each team. 

All rankings according to 247Sports composite, which takes into consideration multiple recruiting services including their own, rivals.com and ESPN. Here is anexplanation of how it comes up with their rankings.  

CLASS OF 2026 (from top 600 nationally)

Mater Dei

16. TE Mark Bowman, 6-5, 225, USC commit

20. OT Kodi Green, 6-6, 320, Washington

21. WR Chris Henry, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

124. WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, 6-2, 180, Ohio State

Mater Dei’s Kayden Dixon-Wyatt catches a pass and eludes a Bishop Gorman defender on Friday, September 6, 2024. Dixon-Wyatt is one of two Mater Dei receivers headed to Ohio State. / Heston Quan

136. DL Tomuhini Topui, 6-3, 320, USC

326. DE Shaun Scott, 6-3, 230, USC

555. QB Ryan Hopkins, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

St. Thomas Aquinas

44. CB Justice Fitzpatrick, 6-1, 185, Georgia

337. DE Daniel Norman, 6-4, 210, Oklahoma

CLASS OF 2027 (from top 500 nationally)

Mater Dei

73. CB Aaryn Washington, 6-0, 175, uncommitted

228. CB Danny Lang, 6-1, 175, uncommitted

376. WR Gavin Honore, 5-10, 175, Georgia

441. DL Montana Toilolo, 6-3, 260, uncommitted

466. CB Patrick Hall, 6-1, 175, uncommitted

Others

OL Lex Mailangi, 6-3, 330, uncommitted

DL Matamatagi Uiagalelei, 6-3, 240, uncommitted

LB DJ Clanton, 6-1, 210, uncommitted

QB Furian Inferrera, 6-3, 200, Minnesota

St. Thomas Aquinas

7. OT Mark Matthews, 6-6, 270, uncommitted

65. WR Julius Jones, 5-10, 170, uncommitted

175. S Zayden Gamble, 5-11, 170, uncommitted

322. CB Jaden Carey, 6-0, 170, uncommitted

349. S Samari Howard, 6-0, 170, uncommitted

466. WR Sean Thompson, 6-2, 180, uncommitted

Other

OL Jaydean Dean, 6-3, 277, uncommitted

Program highlights

Mater Dei

Notable football alumni: Matt Barkley, Colt Brennan, JT Daniels, Matt Grootegoed, Khaled Holmes, Chris Jackson, Quentin Lake, Matt Leinart, Todd Marinovich, Kennedy Polamalu, Nikko Remigio, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Larry Williams, Bryce Young. See entire list

Record last 10 seasons: 13-0 (2024), 13-1 (2023), 12-1 (2022), 12-0 (2021), 5-0 (2020), 12-1 (2019), 14-1 (2018), 15-0 (2017), 13-1 (2016), 10-3 (2015). Total: 119-8.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Notable football alumni: Geno Atkins, Jordan Battle, Giovani Bernard, Nik Bonitto, Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, Bobby Brown, Duron Carter, John Congemi, Andrew Datko, Jaden Smith, Phillip Dorsett, Rashad Greene, Trevon Grimes, Leonard Hankerson, Stefan Humphries, Michael Irvin, Lamarcus Joyner, Josh Palmer, Brian Piccolo, Jake Rudock, Asante Samuel Jr., Tyler Steen, Dallas Turner, James White, Major Wright, Sam Young. See entire list

Record last 10 years: 12-3 (2024), 14-1 (2023), 14-0 (2022), 14-1 (2021), 8-1 (2020), 15-0 (2019), 13-2 (2018), 12-3 (2017), 13-2 (2016), 13-1 (2015). Total: 126-14.

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