Kentucky High School Football Preseason Top 25 Rankings: Trinity Opens 2026 at No. 1

Kentucky high school football enters the 2026 season with plenty of familiar championship contenders at the top of the preseason rankings.

Trinity, winner of three consecutive Class 6A state championships, opens at No. 1 as the Shamrocks pursue a fourth straight title. Boyle County, Christian Academy-Louisville and Owensboro follow, giving the Top 25 four defending state champions in the first four spots.

Class 4A may offer the greatest depth, with eight teams represented in the preseason rankings, led by No. 2 Boyle County. Meanwhile, Trinity leads a strong Class 6A group that also includes South Warren, St. Xavier, Manual and Frederick Douglass among the top 13.

Here is the 2026 High School On SI Kentucky preseason Top 25:

Kentucky high school football rankings — High School On SI

1. Trinity (6A)

Last season: 12-3; State 6A champions.

What can you say? It’s Trinity. In a sense, it’s meet the new team, same as the old team. And 52-TDs-3-picks Zane Johnson is back at quarterback, hoping to lead the Rocks to a fourth consecutive 6A title.

2. Boyle County (4A)

Last season: 14-1; State 4A champions.

There’s no slow “Boyle” here. Versatile running back Kain Logan will lead the ground attack and an elite foursome of tight ends will test the best Bluegrass defenses.

3. Christian Academy-Louisville (3A)

Last season: 15-0; State 3A champions.

Why CAL will repeat as 3A champions-

Centurion quarterback Jackson Burke holds the national record for completion percentage. His 2025 numbers: 3,526 yards, 53 touchdowns to one pick.

Receiver Ja’Hyde Brown, a Louisville commit, recorded 98 receptions, 1,566 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Linebacker Micah Newsome, a Western Kentucky commit, registered 143 tackles, 19.5 TFL and three sacks.

Junior defensive lineman Kellan Hall: The Rivals nationally ranked No. 4 prospect in the Class of 2028, logged 53 tackles, 17.5 TFL and eight sacks as a sophomore.

That’s pretty much what you need to know about CAL. Should claim a fifth consecutive 3A title.

4. Owensboro (5A)

Last season: 13-2; State 5A champions.

Owensboro returns a wealth of talent in 2026. Two-way player Tee Green will lead the running backs and is solid from his DB position, collecting 66 tackles, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and four interceptions.

They'll be tested early with contests against CAL, St. X and Owensboro Catholic in the first four weeks of the season.

5. South Warren (6A)

Last season: 13-1; Class 6A runner-up.

The 6A runner-ups don’t possess as challenging of a slate as some of its classification foes, but that shouldn’t matter much when the returning defense is intact and stacked. The Spartan defense averaged 10 TFL per game.

6. St. Xavier (6A)

Last season: 10-4; lost to Trinity in the state 6A semifinals.

A new quarterback – Hazard transfer William Shoptaw - without 6A experience could impact the Tigers this season. Like Ballard, St. X has one of the toughest schedules in the state.

7. Manual (6A)

Last season: 9-3; lost to Male in the second round of the state 6A playoffs.

The Crimsons will bring a solid squad to the field but will find 2026 6A opponents St. X, Male and South Warren a challenge.

8. Corbin (4A)

Last season: 10-4; lost to Boyle County in the state 4A semifinals.

The Redhounds will be hard-pressed to get by Boyle County in the postseason.

9. Highlands (4A)

Last season: 10-3; lost to Corbin in the state 4A quarterfinals.

The 4A classification is not short on strong programs, but the Bluebirds will have an uphill climb in the postseason.

10. Woodford County (5A)

Last season: 12-2; lost to Owensboro in the state 5A semifinals.

A favorable schedule should reflect in the end-of-season stats, especially for 6-foot-5 Yellow Jacket quarterback Fox Coons who lit up defenses in 2025. Senior running back Darrian Tomlin rushed for 110 yards per game last year.

Woodford County doesn't play quite as formidable schedule as Owensboro, which could hurt them in the long run.

11. Pulaski County (5A)

Last season: 12-3; 5A state runner-up

The Maroons will lean on a triumvirate of running backs in 2026. Junior Will Adams is actually more “athlete” than back, getting it done at quarterback last year, when starter Zak Anderson went down with an injury. Adams threw for 451 yards as a backup, ran for 578 yards with nine TDs and picked off four balls with a score on defense. Leading Pulaski rusher Kasen Brock logged 1,808 yards with 22 touchdowns.

12. Frankling County (4A)

Last season: 14-1; State 4A runner-up.

Graduation left the Flyers a bit depleted, but they’ll rely on junior quarterback Knox Barrett to rally the offense and develop chemistry with sophomore receiver Aaron Jones.

13. Frederick Douglass (6A)

Last season: 8-5; fell to Ryle in overtime in the state 6A quarterfinals.

The Broncos lost to all stiff competition last season, with the exception of Male, who for all intents and purposes was undermanned in 2025. Another rigorous slate could translate to a five-plus loss year, however; they do return running back Dakari Talbert — 19 touchdowns and 1,423 yards

14. Lexington Christian (2A)

Last season: 12-3; State 2A champions.

The Eagles’ schedule this season isn’t quite as demanding as in 2025. The offense will be guided by junior quarterback Nash Whelan, who amassed more than 1,000 yards on the ground and 2,500 in the air. He threw 28 TDs and rushed for 16. On defense, three underclassmen led the team in tackles. Their matchups against Pulaski County and Franklin County should be interesting.

15. Paducah Tilghman (4A)

Last season: 12-2; lost to Franklin County in the state 4A semifinals.

A moderately challenging slate should help a team that lost key experience on offense.

16. Madison Central (6A)

Last season: 8-5; lost to Trinity in the state 6A quarterfinals.

A run-heavy team, the Indians bring back runner Corinthian Barnes - 1,471 yards, 113 yards per game average and 22 scores. Quarterback Carson Herbst was more back than quarter, collecting 626 yards and nine touchdowns. He only attempted 36 passes in 13 games. Similar to some of the other ranked 6A teams, Madison Central hasn’t quite reached the top 6A tier, despite playing in the state semifinal where they gave up 64 points to Trinity.

17. Johnson Central (4A)

Last season: 11-1; lost to Covington Catholic in the second round of the state 4A playoffs.

Another run-centric squad, the Golden Eagles prevailed against Madison Central, Pulaski County and Corbin last year, but lost a key piece from their three-pronged running machine, which averaged 274 yards per contest.

18. Scott County (5A)

Last season: 9-4; lost to Woodford County in the state 5A quarterfinals.

The Cardinals are kind of a sleeper unit. They return all of their key pieces from last season, which includes explosive running backs Skyler Way (1,257 yards, 7.2 yards per carry and nine TDs), Timmy Emongo (1,052 yards, 9.6 yards per carry, 18 TDs, 21 receptions, 10 of them for scores) and Jayden Garrett (786 yards, 12 yards per carry and six TDs). Scott County will need the firepower in a schedule filled with ranked programs.

19. Ryle (6A)

Last season: 10-4; fell to South Warren in the state 6A semifinals.

Like most of the ranked teams, Ryle plays a loaded schedule. But the Raiders lost most of their top guns from the 2025 edition and will have to retool in 2026. They do bring back players with some variety snaps, but those were primarily in superfluous running-clock minutes. Can sophomore quarterback Brody Smith lead the Raider spread offense on a deep playoff run?

20. Covington Catholic (4A)

Last season: 9-4; lost to Boyle County in the state 4A quarterfinals.

Similar to Ryle, CovCath lost some top-shelf talent from last season’s squad. Much will depend on the development of junior quarterback Dylan Courtney and a reliance on the abilities of two Division I commits, two-way lineman Jonny Lind (Army) and tight end Owen Pitzer (Ball State).

21. Male (6A)

Last season: 8-5; lost to St. X in the state 6A quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs are kind of an enigma going into the 2026 campaign. A new coach, but one who has been in the program for several years, inherits a work-in-progress roster. One that lacks substantial varsity live-action reps. As first-year head coach Chase Porter told High School on SI, “Our biggest growth for the preseason would just really be getting everybody kind of varsity-ready. Getting built for four quarters, because they were asked to come in and spot-time or blowout time or something like that and they weren't really involved in the game plan…”

22. Ballard (6A)

Last season: 5-7; lost to Ryle in the second round of the state 6A playoffs.

Yes, a losing season in 2025, but a tough schedule. The Bruins, again, have another gauntlet to run in this season’s slate. Will 2026 have the same outcome as 2025? It could. Ballard lost a significant amount of varsity experience. I’m not sure how they recover. But the Bruins made the rankings based on their ability to remain competitive while playing a daunting schedule.

23. Owensboro Catholic (2A)

Last season: 13-2; State 2A runner-up.

The Aces will put out a more than respectable offense onto the field this year. Coach Jason Morris is confident in his O-line, anchored by four-star tackle John Paul Carrico, and Louisville-commit quarterback Dre’Mail Carothers — 49 touchdown passes and 4,022 yards.

24. Beechwood (2A)

Last season: 11-2; lost to Owensboro Catholic in the state 2A semifinals.

An alignment of factors for 2026 bode well for the Tigers: The school brought back highly successful coach Noel Rash — he replaced Jay Voelker — to helm the program, and the elevated play of Wake Forest-commit quarterback Emmett Queen (39 TDs against two interceptions). Queen’s primary target, Tyler Freeman (1,320 receiving yards and 23 TDs), also returns.

25. Elizabethtown (4A)

Last season: 8-4; lost to Logan County in the second round of the state 4A playoffs.

The sleeper team of the rankings could very well awaken in 2026 due to a Class of ’28 bumper crop, which is the core of the team. On offense, the Panthers return several players who started as sophomores. Darian Bryant is the standout on both sides of the ball. He accumulated 700 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns and led E’town in tackles with 183, 29 TFL and 7.5 sacks. The Panthers’ greatest test will come at the end of the regular season against Owensboro Catholic.

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