Kansas High School Football Preseason Top 25 Rankings: Andale Opens 2026 at No. 1

Defending state champions Andale, Manhattan among the top-ranked teams in Kansas high school football.

Undefeated Class 3A state champion Andale opens the 2026 season as the No. 1 team in Kansas Top 25 High School Football State Rankings. | High School On SI

Kansas high school football is almost back, and several reigning state champions enter 2026 with their sights set on another title.

Andale leads the inaugural High School On SI Kansas Top 25 of the season after completing a dominant 13-0 run to the Class 3A state championship in 2025. Class 6A champion Manhattan and Class 4A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel aren't far behind, opening at Nos. 2 and 3.

With the new season approaching, here is the High School On SI preseason Top 25:

High School On SI

1. Andale

Last season: 13-0

Andale finished 2025 atop Kansas Class 3A football, and they start it that way overall in 2026. The playoff road concluded with a one-sided 38-6 victory over then-unbeaten Topeka-Hayden in the finals after not playing a game closer than 34 points before that in the playoffs.

2. Manhattan

Last season: 11-2

A four-seed going into the Class 6A playoffs, Manhattan hit on all cylinders, reeling off convincing win after convincing win before winning the title with a 27-0 shutout in the finals over Olathe Northwest. The defense will need to find a way to replace James Dunnigan Jr., who is now at Miami.

3. Kapaun Mt. Carmel

Last season: 12-1

The march to the Class 4A state title for Kapaun Mt. Carmel was as impressive as any. The Crusaders scored at least 56 points in each of their four playoff victories, capped by a dominant championship-game win over Bishop Miege. The Crusaders get Cole Rapp and Ken Huff back.

4. St. Thomas Aquinas

Last season: 8-2

The 2025 season was cut short for perennial power St. Thomas Aquinas, as they were stunned by Shawnee-Mill Valley in the Class 5A second round, 28-27. Defensive lineman Zion Thornton holds offers from several schools, including Kansas State and Iowa State.

5. Derby

Last season: 8-4

The playoff run for Derby last fall reached the semifinal round, as they fell to eventual champion Manhattan, 38-7. The six-seed in the region coming in, they had just a 5-3 record when the postseason kicked off, upsetting Junction City in the second round.

6. Great Bend

Last season: 11-1

Great Bend battled through a tough bracket in Class 5A a year ago, reaching the state semifinals where they fell to eventual state champion Salina-Central in a heartbreaker, 30-28. They feature top prospect Cooper Ohnmacht, a Kansas State commit, and must replace tight end Ian Premer, now a freshman at Notre Dame.

7. Gardner Edgerton

Last season: 9-3

Entering 2025, Gardner Edgerton was the two-time defending Class 6A champions. Last year, they were denied a three-peat, falling to Olathe Northwest in the semifinals. 

8. Hays

Last season: 8-3

Behind future Oregon Duck Gus Corsair, Hays will look to make another deep run in the Kansas high school football playoffs. Corsair is one of the top interior offensive linemen in the state.

9. Olathe Northwest

Last season: 9-4

An incredible season ended in the finals for Olathe Northwest, as they advanced to the Class 6A state championship game. That run included an upset of Olathe West, and a victory over two-time defending state champion Gardner Edgerton.

10. Mill Valley

Last season: 8-3

Mill Valley had the ability to rely on Lamarcus Barber last year, but he has moved on, taking his 6-foot-3, 285-pound frame to Kansas State.

11. St. James Academy

Last season: 10-2

After earning a pair of close Class 5A postseason wins, St. James Academy was eliminated by Basehor-Linwood in a semifinal round thriller, 28-20.

12. Maize

Last season: 10-1

All good things typically must come to an end, and for Maize, that was in the sectional round of the Class 6A playoffs to eventual champion Manhattan. They were unbeaten at the time, and had just put up 58 points in the previous round, but were eliminated, 55-31.

13. Blue Valley Northwest

Last season: 4-5

Elite wide receiver prospect Baron Marshall will be a junior for Blue Valley Northwest. He currently has 16 offers, including from programs such as Kansas, Auburn, BYU and Arkansas.

14. Shawnee Mission Northwest

Last season: 7-4

Eliminated at the hands of Gardner Edgerton last year in the Class 6A third round, Shawnee Mission Northwest looks to make a deeper run in 2026.

15. Salina Central

Last season: 12-1

Salina Central capped off 2025 with an offensive explosion to claim the Class 5A title, handing Basehor-Linwood its first – and only – defeat of the season. They did the same to Great Bend in the semifinals. Top interior offensive lineman Kaden Snyder has graduated, taking his talents to Kansas.

16. Blue Valley

Last season: 4-5

Jacob Lockett and Blue Valley are poised for big things in 2026. Lockett, a 6-foot wide receiver, is an Old Dominion commit, with quarterback Dan Sogard also returning. Lockett had 61 receptions for almost 600 yards last year, as Sogard threw for nearly 2,000 with 22 touchdowns and just two interceptions on 242 attempts.

17. Bishop Miege

Last season: 7-6

What a remarkable season it was for Bishop Miege, as they started the Class 4A postseason with a 3-5 record and as the No. 13 seed. That didn’t matter, as they rolled to wins over the first three rounds before running into an equally red-hot Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the finals. Jaylen Johnson is back to anchor the defense.

18. Blue Valley West

Last season: 3-7

Standout linebacker Lawson McGraw has graduated, heading off to nearby Kansas State to continue his playing career. The Jaguars will look to top rusher Youqub Abdulmalikov to lead the offense.

19. Washburn Rural

Last season: 6-4

The Junior Blues had some struggles down the stretch in 2025, losing two straight before earning a playoff victory. They were eliminated in a high-scoring affair vs. Olathe Northwest, 52-28.

20. Olathe West

Last season: 9-2

Last year, the Owls scored over 30 points in nine games, surpassing the 50-point mark in three of those. Unfortunately for Olathe West, they must replace a 2,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,300-yard receiver. Cash Warren is back to lead the offense.

21. Sterling

Last season: 13-0

The defending Class 1A state champions earned three one-possession wins in the postseason, including a 35-34 victory in the finals. Zane Farney, who ran for over 2,300 yards and scored 42 touchdowns, has graduated, as has 1,000-yard rusher Wyatt Newberry. Jace Darnauer and Deryn Maxwell will assume those roles in the backfield.

22. Southeast Saline

Last season: 12-1

A loss to Nemaha Central ended the season for Southeast Saline short of a championship. Tiernan Ptacek is back at quarterback for the Trojans, having thrown for almost 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is also the leading rusher for Southeast Saline.

23. Nemaha Central

Last season: 13-0

It was all gold for the Thunder, as they claimed the state championship in Class 2A last fall. Dual-threat Carter Hajek has exhausted his eligibility after piling up over 800 yards passing and 2,600 yards rushing with 53 combined touchdowns. Either Kendal Bergman or Cole Ranieri could be the next one to control the offense.

24. Basehor-Linwood

Last season: 12-1

It was not meant to be for Basehor-Linwood last year, as they lost in the Class 5A finals to Salina-Central. The defeat was the only one in 13 games, as they look to take it one step further in 2026.

25. Hutchinson

Last season: 7-3

The Salthawks were extremely balanced last year, throwing for almost 1,300 yards and rushing for more than 1,600. Most of that production has graduated, with Larry Jeremiah, Lamar Govain and D’Angelo Gray among the key pieces back.