WSU welcomes state football champion to 2026 recruiting class
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Jan. 13—One of the most electric high school football players in Washington is staying in-state.
On Sunday, Sumner High School senior Lance McGee announced his commitment to Washington State and first-year coach Kirby Moore, flipping from WSU's Pac-12 rival Oregon State.
McGee capped a decorated high school career with a state championship season with Sumner in which he earned Washington's 4A state player of the year award.
McGee rushed for 2,489 yards and 42 touchdowns for the Sumner Spartans this past fall. Before Sumner, McGee played linebacker and running back at A.C. Davis High School in Yakima.
McGee posted a photo of himself and WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray at Gesa Field's 50-yard line to his X account on Sunday with the following caption:
"Back together in the Pullman!! Coug nation let's work," McGee wrote, following his message with the emoji for a pair of paw prints, two red exclamation marks and tags for the accounts of Moore, Bray, running backs coach Justin Green, the official WSU football account and the Cougar Collective.
McGee originally committed to Bray when the Pullman High School grad was the Beavers' head coach.
That personal touch seems to have helped WSU secure the three-star local prospect.
It is not known which side of the ball McGee may play at Wazzu, but the fact that he tagged Bray, WSU's DC and linebackers coach, and Green, WSU's RB coach, suggests that he could play both ways.
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With three top returners — Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi— at running back — McGee's path to immediate contribution may be capped on the offensive side of the ball, whereas WSU's linebacking corps could use the reinforcement.
The Cougars also continued to announce transfer portal additions, including Missouri wide receiver Daniel Blood, Marshall defensive linemen Paul Hutson III and UCLA tight end Jack Pedersen.
Blood has known Moore, now his head coach, for the last three years at Missouri, where Moore was offensive coordinator.
At Mizzou, Blood made 15 catches for 152 yards through 36 games. He arrives in Pullman with junior status and is listed at 5-foot-10, 187 pounds.
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His brother, JR Blood, is WSU's director of recruiting strategy.
Hutson arrived in Pullman after an All-Sun Belt honorable mention campaign in 2025.
The 6-foot-1, 260-pound edge made 40 total tackles, 6.5 for loss, with 3.5 sacks and two interceptions, one for a 46-yard Pick-6.
Hutson spent his true freshman and sophomore seasons at FCS Campbell in 2022 and 2024 with a stint at Austin Peay in 2023.
Pedersen, listed at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, caught 23 passes for 198 yards through 29 games, six of which were starts, over the past four years with the Bruins.
WSU also announced the signing of New Mexico State punter Max Dean, defensive tackle Akio Martinson and wide receiver Ryan McKendry.
Dean, from Australia, put 20 punts inside the 20 and booted 10 over 50 yards, with a long of 59 yards and an average of 42.3 yards per punt.
Martinson put together a solid season at American River College after limited game action in his first two years at San Jose State.
McKendry led California's junior college level with 1,221 yards off of 44 catches with 14 touchdowns through 11 games with Los Medanos College.
WSU's two added wide receivers should receive ample opportunity to compete for playing time with underclassmen Landon Wright and Mackenzie Alleyne choosing to transfer recently.
Wright is joining former WSU linebacker Anthony Palano at Boston College, while Alleyne is reuniting with his former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer at Oklahoma.
WSU has re-signed over 20 Cougs to revenue-sharing agreements, welcomed 23 incoming transfers to Pullman and lost 37 Cougs to the portal, according to 247sports.com.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
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