With Brent Brennan taking over as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats, it will be important to keep a close eye on how they progress in recruiting players.
Moving to a Power 4 conference after leaving San Jose State is a huge step forward for Brennan and his team. While he may be able to outsmart teams on game day, it will be imperative for him to put together highly rated recruiting classes to ensure they have enough talent to compete in the Big 12 each year.
2026 will be the first full cycle for this new regime after the leadership change was announced on Jan. 16, but they still have an opportunity to accomplish some of their own goals for the Class of 2025 while retaining those signed by previous head coach Jedd Fisch.
All in all, Arizona has managed to put together a good group.
They currently have commitments from 20 players and still have the opportunity to put the finishing touches on this cycle before the national signing day in February 2025.
But where do the Wildcats currently rank compared to other teams in the Big 12?
According to On3’s rankings, the overall situation looks like this.
1. UCF
2. TCU
3. Baylor
4. Texas Tech
5. State of Arizona
6. State of Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Houston
9. Utah
10. ARIZONA
11. State of Kansas
12. Cincinnati
13. State of Iowa
14. Kansas
15. BYU
16. Colorado
As you can see, they are in the bottom half of the conference in the 2025 cycle. However, considering there was a change in head coaching, that’s not a bad start to the Brennan era.
All of their current 20 investments have a three-star industry rating.
Their top-ranked recruit is 6-foot-4 wide receiver Terry Shelton from Texas, followed by California tight end Kellan Ford.
Looking at Arizona’s draft prospects, it’s clear that they’re targeting offensive players, as 13 of their players play on that side of the ball, including five wide receivers and two quarterbacks. On defense, five of their seven are cornerbacks.
For now, this can be considered a solid performance from Brennan and his team.
It’s a good sign to have 20 three-star athletes join the program, even though they had to build relationships with many prospects late in the process.
Time will tell if they can build on that in the 2026 class and beyond, but they will need to improve their recruiting profile if they want to be a consistent contender in the conference and nationally.
