Five-star defensive finish Zion Elee, ESPN’s No. 1 defender within the Class of 2026, has dedicated to Maryland, a supply confirmed to ESPN Saturday afternoon.
Elee, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound cross rusher from Baltimore, is the No. 8 total prospect within the ESPN Junior 300. He took unofficial visits to Penn State, Florida, Miami and Texas A&M this fall and picked the in-state Terrapins over Oregon, Alabama and Penn State.
With his pledge, Elee turns into Maryland’s highest-rated commit within the ESPN recruiting rankings period (relationship again to 2006) and the Terrapins’ highest-ranked pledge since Stefon Diggs (No. 13) within the Class of 2012. Elee is now the fourth member of Maryland’s 2026 class and the primary from inside the ESPN Junior 300.
The Terrapins maintain the No. 22 class in ESPN’s workforce class rankings for the 2025 cycle after going 4-8 in coach Mike Locksley’s sixth season answerable for this system.
With elite size and approach, Elee stands among the many most polished defensive prospects within the 2026 class. He burst onto the recruiting scene in 2023 when he recorded 64 tackles and 13 sacks as a sophomore at Joppatowne (Maryland) High School. Elee transferred to Maryland’s St. Frances Academy previous to his junior marketing campaign this fall.
Elee narrowed his finalists to Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State in August, however took a sequence of campus visits this fall throughout the SEC, ACC and Big Ten. His dedication to Maryland marks a significant early win within the 2026 cycle and continues this system’s run of recruiting momentum after the Terrapins signed six ESPN prospects within the 2025 class, their highest-count since 2021.
