5-star edge, who has visited Syracuse football, transfers to preseason top-15 power

Zion Elee, a 2026 five-star edge and a top-10 national prospect who made a trip to Syracuse football last month, is switching Maryland programs for his upcoming junior season.

Not too long ago, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Elee said via his X page that he had officially transferred to the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, which is an elite squad in Maryland. Most recently, Elee was a standout at Joppatowne High School in Joppatowne, Md.

In the 2023 season, Saint Frances struggled, going just 5-6 overall, per MaxPreps. However, the Panthers are projected by experts to once again be a dominant force in high school football in the upcoming campaign.

Earlier this month, MaxPreps national football editor Zack Poff unveiled his preseason national top 25 for the 2024 term, and he's got Saint Frances at No. 14 around the country.

Syracuse football faces steep competition for 2026 five-star edge Zion Elee.

Throughout his recruiting process to date, Elee has picked up more than 20 offers from a range of high-major programs, such as Illinois, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin, among others.

The Orange staff, led by head coach and ace recruiter Fran Brown, offered a scholarship to Elee on February 16 of this year. In early June, Elee took a trip to Syracuse football, saying on his X page that it was a "nice visit."

Per his X page, Elee has visited numerous other college squads. According to 247Sports, he plans to visit Oregon soon as well.

For what it's worth, when I wrote this article, On3's recruiting prediction machine had the Orange at No. 3 in Elee's recruitment, trailing just Maryland, an in-state suitor, and Penn State.

At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, within the 2026 cycle, had him as five stars, No. 22 overall, No. 3 at edge and No. 2 in Maryland. Over at the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, Elee was No. 12 nationally, No. 2 at edge and No. 2 in Maryland.

Currently, On3 is the most bullish on him, placing Elee at No. 8 nationwide and No. 1 at edge.

Brown and his staff, so far, have landed a trio of four-star verbal commitments in the 2026 cycle, a class rated No. 4 overall by the 247Sports Composite.