2026 Nevada Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) opens the 2026 high school football season as the top team in Nevada and as an early contender for a national championship.

The Gaels wrapped up 2025 going 11-1 with a fifth consecutive NIAA state title, defeating Arbor View (Las Vegas) 44-7 in the Open Division and finishing as the No. 3 team in the country. After a three-point loss to Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Bishop Gorman only surrendered 13 points over its final seven games, culminating in the program's 21st overall state title.

Gorman will have a major test early on Aug. 21 in a preseason 1 vs. 2 showdown against St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) in the first MaxPreps Game of the Week of 2026.

The Gaels boast the No. 1 player in the state and No. 6 overall cornerback in the class of 2027 in Oregon commit Hayden Stepp. He is joined in the secondary by California commit Kamil Loud and UNLV commit Azavier McDaniel. Kansas commit Chance Thomas will steer the offense from the quarterback position.

Other top recruits in the state include an Arbor View trio of Zac Fares (UCLA), Thaddeus Thatcher (Oregon State) and Damani Warren (Texas A&M); Demichael Burks, a BYU commit from Desert Pines (Las Vegas) and Maxwell Miles, a Minnesota commit from Centennial (Las Vegas).

Reigning NIAA state champions include Pahranagat Valley (Alamo) in 1A, Needles (Calif.) in 2A, Churchill County (Fallon) in 3A, McQueen (Reno) in 4A, Spanish Springs (Sparks) in 5A and Bishop Gorman in the Open Division.

MaxPreps Preseason Nevada Top 25

1. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 11-1 in 2025

2. Liberty (Henderson), 9-2

3. Spanish Springs (Sparks), 13-0

4. Arbor View (Las Vegas), 9-3

5. Bishop Manogue (Reno), 7-5

6. Reed (Sparks), 6-4

7. Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas), 6-8

8. Churchill County (Fallon), 12-1

9. Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas), 8-3

10. Coronado (Henderson), 3-7

11. Desert Pines (Las Vegas), 4-6

12. Elko, 9-2

13. Foothill (Henderson), 7-4

14. Moapa Valley (Overton), 8-5

15. Reno, 7-5

16. McQueen (Reno), 11-2

17. Las Vegas, 10-2

18. Fernley, 9-3

19. Centennial (Las Vegas), 7-5

20. Spring Creek, 6-5

21. Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon (Henderson), 12-1

22. Virgin Valley (Mesquite), 9-4

23. Douglas (Minden), 3-8

24. Silverado (Las Vegas), 8-2

25. Green Valley (Henderson), 6-5