Syracuse football firmly in mix for 4-star WR Messiah Hampton, No. 1 prospect in NY

Four-star junior wide receiver Messiah Hampton from New York state, a fast-rising national prospect in the 2026 class, appears to be high on Syracuse football and its head coach Fran Brown, along with several other impressive suitors.

According to a post on X from On3 director of recruiting Chad Simmons, the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Hampton "is still evaluating his options, but Miami, Ohio State, Penn State and Syracuse look to be four strong contenders in this race moving forward."

Speaking of evaluating his options, so far in 2025, Hampton has landed newer scholarship offers from schools such as California, Oregon, Florida State, Southern California, North Carolina, Arkansas, Miami and Ohio State, per his X account.

Big Ten Conference member and College Football Playoff participant Oregon may prove a squad to monitor, as the Orange's wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator during the 2024 season, Ross Douglas, recently joined the Ducks to take on the same roles.

According to national recruiting analysts, Hampton has visited the Hill in the past, and he could be in line to potentially make a spring trip to the 'Cuse or even officially visit Syracuse football at some point in the future.

Syracuse football is recruiting 2026 4-star WR Messiah Hampton hard.

Brown and his top-flight staff re-offered a scholarship to Hampton, a standout at James Monroe High School in Rochester, N.Y., back in January of 2024. Last month, amid a contact recruiting period, Hampton said that the Orange was among the suitors to travel to Rochester to see him.

In late August of last year, Hampton dropped a top 10 that included Syracuse football, although his recruiting process has heated up more recently, given all his stellar offers of late.

As a junior for James Monroe during the 2024 campaign, Hampton generated 1,900 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns. For his efforts in 2024, he was named by the New York State Sportswriters Association to the All-State first team on offense.

Currently, Hampton's highest 2026 rankings come from On3, which has him at No. 120 nationally and No. 13 at wide receiver. Multiple recruiting services deem Hampton as the No. 1 prospect hailing from the Empire State in his cycle.

So far, the Orange has secured at least nine verbal pledges among high school juniors in a class that resides in the top 20 overall. These verbal commits include three-star wide receiver BJ Garrett of Middletown High School in Middletown, Del., and three-star wide receiver Phoenix Henriquez of Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Del.

At the wide-receiver position in 2026, Syracuse football coaches are also prioritizing four-star Calvin Russell of Miami Northwestern Senior High School.