Portal Season 2025-26

[WarriorVoice]

IUP’s high school recruiting class for 2026 below. IUP beat out PSAC rivals like Slippery Rock and Cal U, plus D1 FCS programs on multiple guys from the research I did on Twitter accounts and recruiting profiles on the Internet. Here’s a streamlined list of commits I highlighted for you guys, height, weight (where available from announcements/profiles), and hometowns/high schools.

Quarterback

• Ryan Messina (6’4” 226 lbs, Elizabeth Forward HS, Elizabeth, PA)
Beat Slippery Rock, Cal U, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Findlay, and more—major recruiting win for a highly sought-after WPIAL QB.

Linebackers

• Mason Cook (6’2” 205 lbs, New Castle HS, New Castle, PA)
Out-recruited Slippery Rock, Cal U, Mercyhurst, Shepherd, Kutztown, Clarion.

• Ethan Rhodes (Hollidaysburg HS, Hollidaysburg, PA)
Beat Cal U, Seton Hill, Clarion.

Defensive Line / Ends

• Jayden Shaffer (DE, New Castle HS, New Castle, PA)
Beat Slippery Rock, Cal U, Mercyhurst, Shippensburg, Tiffin.

• Andrew Wheeler (Newark, NJ)
Beat Fordham, Wagner, Cal U, Kutztown, Shepherd.

• Nathan Carothers
Beat Cal U.

• Trevor Lee (York, PA)
Beat Kutztown, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, East Stroudsburg, West Liberty, Cal U.

Wide Receivers

• Mason James (Garfield, NJ)
Beat New Hampshire, Wagner, Slippery Rock.

• Daimear Coad (State College HS, State College, PA)
Beat Cal U, Shippensburg, Shepherd, Lock Haven.

Offensive Line

• Carter Stayer (Mount Pleasant HS, Mount Pleasant, PA)
Beat Cal U.

• Jayden Rosenberger (Leechburg HS, Leechburg, PA)
Beat Robert Morris, Cal U, Slippery Rock, Seton Hill.

Safeties / Defensive Back

• Dwayne Morgan
Heavy PSAC East interest (everyone recruiting him per his twitter and a recruiting profile from the web.)

• Gavin Easter (Cathedral Prep HS, Erie, PA)
Beat Slippery Rock, Gannon, Mercyhurst, West Liberty, Clarion, Lock Haven.

Tight End

• Connor Todd (La Plata, MD)
Beat Shepherd, Delaware State, West Liberty, Seton Hill.

Special Teams

• Preston Rathway (K, Belle Vernon HS, Belle Vernon, PA)
Beat Cal U, Edinboro.




That took some digging to find all of that, but after going through IUP’s class on Twitter accounts and doing some Google searches, that’s what I found. Seems like this is going to be a great high school recruiting class. If anyone is interested you can find the whole class on the IUP athletics website and on Twitter.



Incase you missed the post I already made on the IUP Football thread, I’ll repeat it here. I did the homework—this took a lot of digging. Since you made the claim, the burden of proof is on you. Please provide factual evidence showing which player Slippery Rock and Cal beat IUP for. I’m not interested in opinions, guesses, or “trust me bro.” Post an actual source—Twitter from the player, a recruiting service, or something verifiable. Otherwise, stop making claims you can’t back up.

Yeah because no one makes claims here they can't back up!!! YEAH

[TheBigCat2192]

Yeah because no one makes claims here they can't back up!!! YEAH

Are you on a mission to pick a fight with every IUP poster? Do you have an email alert setup to notify you every time someone with the character string "IUP" in the name posts?

[Ram040506]

Are you on a mission to pick a fight with every IUP poster? Do you have an email alert setup to notify you every time someone with the character string "IUP" in the name posts?

He's a troll, so the answer is yes.

[WarriorVoice]

He's a troll, so the answer is yes.

Just tryin' to keep all of you keyboard warriors in line...LOL

[IUPalum]

Are you on a mission to pick a fight with every IUP poster? Do you have an email alert setup to notify you every time someone with the character string "IUP" in the name posts?

The guy is the biggest jackass on the board!

[IUPNation]

Are you on a mission to pick a fight with every IUP poster? Do you have an email alert setup to notify you every time someone with the character string "IUP" in the name posts?

He hates IUP since they got stomped 33-0 in 1991 and he commandeered the score board controls….

[WarriorVoice]

He hates IUP since they got stomped 33-0 in 1991 and he commandeered the score board controls….

False accusation.. We've covered this before. I was in the broadcast booth, calling the game. Add liar to the list of your many nefarious accomplishments...

[Fightingscot82]

I’m not sure where the claim came from that IUP lost players to D1 or FCS schools—I’ve been following the recruiting cycle closely on Twitter and I didn’t see a single guy from IUP’s 2025/2026 class head to a higher level. If there’s one I somehow missed, feel free to share it here, because it didn’t pop up in what I tracked.

On the flip side, IUP came out on top in a bunch of key recruiting battles against Slippery Rock and Cal U. Every prospect I saw announced or hyped as the young generation calls it on social media committed to IUP over those two programs. The big one was landing that monster WPIAL QB—everyone was after him, including some FCS D1 schools, but he picked IUP.

Another standout: that freak athlete/linebacker Mason Cook from New Castle High School. He’s a beast (check his Hudl via his Twitter @masoncook08), and IUP beat out Slippery Rock and Cal U for him too.

Slippery Rock’s class looks big on paper, but numbers don’t tell the whole story—half of those spots are likely walk-ons. PSAC schools just don’t have the budget to fully fund massive classes like that.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/hempfi...from-duquesne/

The Hempfield senior football player had D-I hopes, but was just about ready to commit to a Division II program in the PSAC when a new team entered the conversation.
All of the sudden, Duquesne is his school of choice.

Kopas, a wide receiver, took the Dukes’ offer as a preferred walk-on and will get a roster spot and a chance to earn a scholarship.

National signing day is Wednesday.

A first-team all-Class 6A conference wideout, Kopas also had D-II offers from IUP, Edinboro, Slippery Rock, Gannon, and Lock Haven.

He strongly considered IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Interesting item I'm seeing more of (and it's causing some chaos in WPIAL basketball) is seniors not liking their offers (or whatever) and leaving their public school to enroll at places like Kiski Prep.

Essentially they are taking a post-grad football year (next Fall).

This has gone on for decades but it seems to have really ramped up.

Many had to be at Kiski Prep for the start of this semester (Jan 12). So, they had to leave their old school (and hoops team) behind.

The Kiski School (locals all still call it Kiski Prep) is a wonderful institution. So, getting to go there likely with some form of aid is a huge perk. They've also really ramped up football there so this may become pretty normal. If you live on campus, the retail sticker is about $70k per year.

The school isn't there for the Saltsburg locals. Put it that way.


For the older crowd, Kiski Prep is where JoePa locked up Curtis Enis after not even JoePa could get him in to PSU. A year later he was accepted.

Kiski Prep has also become a machine in basketball, routinely fielding teams full of 5th year guys.

IUP Football was in heavy (and juiced in) on one WPIAL star who ultimately decided (reason unknown) to enroll at KP.

[Fightingscot82]

Same thing with Lincoln Park

[TheBigCat2192]

Interesting item I'm seeing more of (and it's causing some chaos in WPIAL basketball) is seniors not liking their offers (or whatever) and leaving their public school to enroll at places like Kiski Prep.

Essentially they are taking a post-grad football year (next Fall).

This has gone on for decades but it seems to have really ramped up.

Many had to be at Kiski Prep for the start of this semester (Jan 12). So, they had to leave their old school (and hoops team) behind.

The Kiski School (locals all still call it Kiski Prep) is a wonderful institution. So, getting to go there likely with some form of aid is a huge perk. They've also really ramped up football there so this may become pretty normal. If you live on campus, the retail sticker is about $70k per year.

The school isn't there for the Saltsburg locals. Put it that way.


For the older crowd, Kiski Prep is where JoePa locked up Curtis Enis after not even JoePa could get him in to PSU. A year later he was accepted.

Kiski Prep has also become a machine in basketball, routinely fielding teams full of 5th year guys.

IUP Football was in heavy (and juiced in) on one WPIAL star who ultimately decided (reason unknown) to enroll at KP.

With Lackawanna planning to transition to D2, I wonder if Kliski and other post-grad programs around the state might experience a small jump in football players seeking to enroll. JUCO and a prep school post-grad year aren’t the same thing, but some guys might see getting an extra year of physical development & tape without starting their NCAA clock as worth the cost.

[IUPNation]

False accusation.. We've covered this before. I was in the broadcast booth, calling the game. Add liar to the list of your many nefarious accomplishments...

It’s not a false accusation that you have this intense hatred of IUP for no valid reason.

[WarriorVoice]

It’s not a false accusation that you have this intense hatred of IUP for no valid reason.

Change the goalposts. That's what you do when you lose the argument. Such a crybaby. Who's counting timeouts for the football team this year? I hear you have 3 people on it. One thing I DO hate is the sense of entitlement some IUP fans have.

[Fightingscot82]

Did a quick dive into Edinboro's portal entries:

Junior Aderomilehin, WR, ?
Kennique Bonner-Steward, QB, ?
Brian Bowen, DB, to Stevenson (D3)
Derek Burke, QB, Washington & Jefferson (D3)
Preston Gorton, WR, ?
Zay Grier, WR, ?
Khalil Harden, DB, West Chester
Zandrew Kamara, DB, ?
Dylan McWilliams, OL, staying at Edinboro
Carlos Morales, LB, ?
Niear Patterson, WR, ?
Thomas Peveto, OL, Cal U
Kaden Smith, DB, Albright
Daunte White, LB, ?

Hopefully some of these guys have decided to stay in The Boro. The interim coach said they have 65 guys for spring ball, which is pretty good considering.

[BigBoro75]

Did a quick dive into Edinboro's portal entries:

Junior Aderomilehin, WR, ?
Kennique Bonner-Steward, QB, ?
Brian Bowen, DB, to Stevenson (D3)
Derek Burke, QB, Washington & Jefferson (D3)
Preston Gorton, WR, ?
Zay Grier, WR, ?
Khalil Harden, DB, West Chester
Zandrew Kamara, DB, ?
Dylan McWilliams, OL, staying at Edinboro
Carlos Morales, LB, ?
Niear Patterson, WR, ?
Thomas Peveto, OL, Cal U
Kaden Smith, DB, Albright
Daunte White, LB, ?

Hopefully some of these guys have decided to stay in The Boro. The interim coach said they have 65 guys for spring ball, which is pretty good considering.

Papley got Morales to Cal U