Zach Watkins lands most talented recruiting class in 'Washburn history'
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TOPEKA — When Zach Watkins was announced as Washburn football’s head coach last year, he emphasized the need to recruit locally. He discussed this position once again when talking about the Ichabods 2026 recruiting class.
“We are always going to be a high school-based recruiting program,” Watkins said. “We are always going to build from the ground up.”
Washburn announced the commitment of 34 high school players. The Ichabods were busy on the recruiting trail, securing player signatures from Texas, Florida and Nebraska, along with Kansas and Missouri.
The number of different players from across the country has made Watkins really excited for the years to come.
“This is the most talent we’ve ever assembled in one class, maybe, in Washburn history,” Watkins said. “Our staff did a tremendous job of identifying the needs that we had on the roster and then going to get those kids that fit those needs on and off the field.”
Washburn finished Watkins’ first season with a 3-8 record. The team looked to replace many talented players who departed the program. The first step was to look close to home.
There are 10 players staying in state coming to Washburn’s campus from Kansas. Five of the players reside in the capital city. Washburn Rural’s Jordy Heim, John Hoytal, along with Topeka West’s Logan Hunninghake, Hayden’s Kade Mitchell and Shawnee Heights’ Aiden Scott are all signed with the Ichabods.
Watkins recruits Topeka and he shared that it is crucial that he visits every local school. He wants to leave his mark by recruiting local players at their homes and schools, just like any other out-of-state coach would do. His efforts in recruiting were successful in securing some of the area’s most electric high school players.
“A big criteria in our recruiting department is kids that want to be here,” Watkins said. “The kids that know about Washburn that grew up around here or know the conference, those are the kids that we want to go after.”
Washburn football’s first game will put them on the road against Truman State on Saturday, August. 29.
See Washburn’s entire recruiting class here.
Washburn football’s 2026 recruiting class from Kansas
- LB Jordy Heim, Washburn Rural
- PK Jensen Honey, Gardner-Edgerton
- TE John Hoytal, Washburn Rural
- OL Logan Hunninghake, Topeka West
- LB Beckett Linden, Blue Valley Northwest
- RB Kade Mitchell, Hayden
- DE Kaleb Peterson, Blue Valley Northwest
- QB Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights
- S Landon Steven, Bishop Carroll
- DL Miguel Torrealba, Blue Valley Northwest
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Washburn University for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Zach Watkins and the ‘most talent’ in Washburn football recruiting history
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