West Virginia Snags First Commitment of 2026 Football Recruiting Class

A solid way to start of the next cycle of high school recruits for WVU.

WVU Footbal

While the West Virginia coaching staff has spent a ton of time recruiting out of the transfer portal, they have also been making a lot of progress in future high school recruiting classes. Saturday evening, the effort paid off by picking up their first commitment of the 2026 class in tight end Sam Hamilton (6'4", 230 lbs) out of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio.

If that school sounds familiar, well, that's because it's the alma mater of former Mountaineer basketball guard, Miles "Deuce" McBride.

Hamilton chose West Virginia over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Duke, East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kent State, Kentucky, Liberty, Miami (OH), Sacramento State, Toledo, UMass, Washington, and a handful of others.

As a junior, Hamilton caught all 22 passes that were thrown in his direction for 272 yards and five touchdowns.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

West Virginia Makes Top 2 for 2025 Two-Sport Star Madrid Tucker

The X-Factor to West Virginia Getting Its Season Back on Track

Wyatt Milum Looks to Increase Draft Stock at Reese's Senior Bowl on Saturday

Rich Rod Explains What West Virginia's Offense Will Look Like in 2025