Preseason 2026 Oregon High School Football Top 25 Rankings

With the earliest practice sessions kicking off this week across the country, preseason rankings are also starting to roll out as the countdown to the first week of action begins. As the first batch of high school football preseason rankings rolls out, the next state on the agenda is Oregon. Looking ahead to the 2026-27 Oregon high school football season, West Linn (Ore.) enters the season as the number one team in the state, putting together a perfect season in 2025 only to fall to Central Catholic (Ore.) in the 6A open state semifinals. Outside of the No. 1 team, here’s how Massey ranked the best teams in the state of Idaho before the season begins. The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory. 1. West Linn Lions Coming in at No.1, the West Linn Lions have established themselves as the top team in Oregon high school football over the last few years, capturing the 6A state championship in both 2022 and 2024. The biggest storyline this season for the Lions will be the debut of new head coach Anthony Newman, who is taking over for Jon Eagle, who won two state titles during his time with West Linn. In 2025, the Lions put together a perfect regular season, only to fall in a shocking loss during the state semifinals to Central Catholic, which was largely affected by missing the number one prospect in state according to Rivals Industry Rankings, Josiah Molden. Returning the bulk of their 2025 roster, Rivals predicted West Linn to land the state championship in 2026. West Linn finished the season ranked No. 1 and 11-1 in 2025. 2. Lake Oswego Lakers The defending state champions, Lake Oswego (Ore.) captured the 6A open division state championship in a 35-6 win over Central Catholic. Graduating their starting quarterback, Hudson Kurland, over 32 seniors have graduated from Steve Coury’s championship-winning varsity squad. However, the Lakers also have a healthy amount of talent returning, with junior wide receiver Jasiah Agnimel, with Ryder Lemm expected to start at quarterback. With three-star tight end Presley DeLance returning following a breakout freshman year, the Lakers also have an undefeated freshman side and one of the top junior varsity teams in Oregon high school football, ready to make the step up. Lake Oswego finished the season ranked No. 2 and 14-1 in 2025. 3. Central Catholic Rams After shocking the number one team in all of Oregon high school football last year to reach the 6A state championship game, Central Catholic has the pieces to mount a challenge to both Lake Oswego and West Linn this year. Taking on the No.1 team in state for their opening game, the Rams enter 2026 with two of the top tight ends in the state with George VanSandt and Talon Sovsky, as well as returning one of the top players in the state with defensive tackle PJ Tautu going into his Sophomore year. With one of the toughest openings to the season, taking on both West Linn and Lake Oswego, the Rams will prove their credentials early. Central Catholic finished the season ranked No. 3 and 10-4 in 2025. 4. Tualatin Timberwolves West Linn, Lake Oswego, and Central Catholic have all had a stranglehold on the 6A Oregon state championship over the last ten years, with Tualatin being the next closest team to the three powerhouses. Falling in a tough loss in overtime to Jesuit (Ore.) last year, the Timberwolves enter 2026 returning some of their top offensive pieces, including running back Cole Hachmeister, who was their top receiver and rusher in 2025, alongside their quarterback, Carter Powers. Tualatin finished the season ranked No. 6 in Oregon and 6-4 in 2025. 5. Lakeridge Pacers Rounding out the list, Lakeridge (Ore.) undoubtedly has the most question marks surrounding them going into the 2026-27 Oregon high school football season. After proving themselves in the toughest district in Oregon in the 6A Three Rivers league, where they have finished above Tualatin twice over the last two seasons, the Pacers’ roster next season will be almost unrecognizable. While most schools competing in the Oregon 6A open division have a number of talent returning for this season, in 2025, the Pacers had only three players on its varsity roster that weren’t seniors, a fact that was pointed out by head coach Spencer Philips going into the 2025 season. Lakeridge finished the season ranked No. 4 in and 7-5 in 2025. 6. Silverton7. Summit8. Jesuit Crusaders9. Mountain View Cougars 10. Nelson Hawks 11. Mountainside Mavericks12. Wilsonville Wildcats13. Dallas14. West Albany15. Sheldon Irish 16. Willamette Wolverines17. Thurston18. Cascade Senior19. Cascade Christian20. South Medford