New release: Breaking down the 2025 JUCO rankings

Every year there are important prospects that emerge from the junior college ranks. This year will be no different.

The initial junior college rankings were just released and there are some very talented players that will see significant playing time at the Power Four level.

There are 35 players in this first junior college ranking but many more will get rated and ranked before the end of the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Led by No. 1 junior college prospect Kelten Mickell, there are seven defensive linemen in the top 10 of the initial junior college rankings. Mickell, a defensive tackle, isn’t a towering prospect but his strength, quickness, motor and hand techniques have the potential to be devastating at the next level. South Carolina, Georgia and Houston are just some of the teams pursuing him.

Joining Mickell as four-stars are Mississippi State defensive end commits Kevonte Henry and Zavion Hardy. Henry is an explosive pass rusher with a great frame that should be able to continue developing at the next level. Hardy is a bull of a defensive lineman with the size and strength to play multiple positions along the defensive front.

Rounding out the top 10 are defensive ends Esaia Bogar and Chandavian Bradley along with defensive tackles Tyrell Brown and Tavion Atkinson.

Head coach Jeff Lebby has a major build on his hands in Starkville and he isn’t just hitting the high school recruiting trail hard. The Bulldogs currently hold four commitments from the junior college ranks, which is more than any other team at this point in the recruiting cycle.

Mississippi State has worked the junior college recruiting trail so well already that they have commitments from three of the top five players in the rankings. Defensive ends Kevonte Henry and Zavion Hardy should complement each other well in Starkville. Henry is such an explosive presence on the edge of the defense and he does a great job of quickly disengaging from offensive linemen to get into the backfield and make a play. Hardy, on the other hand, can overpower offensive linemen but he still has so much potential to unlock.

Defensive back Tony Mitchell has a strong set of skills that should allow him to compete for playing time once he arrives on campus. He chose Mississippi State over Ole Miss and West Virginia. Outside linebacker LaKendrick James committed to Mississippi State in June. This season he already has two and a half sacks, two forced fumbles and 23 total tackles.

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There are always names from previous recruiting classes that resurface in the junior college rankings. Some years there are more than others but there is no shortage this year of junior college prospects who were big name recruits when they were in high school.

Kevonte Henry signed with Oklahoma as part of the 2022 recruiting class but redshirted during his freshman season. He transferred to junior college for the 2023 season and will head to Mississippi State following this season.

South Carolina was hoping to get Hardy back again after a stint at junior college but he’s heading to Mississippi State as well. The Georgia native was a Rivals250 prospect coming out of high school and now finds himself rated as a four-star yet again.

Defensive back Tony Mitchell is getting a second chance thanks to Mississippi State. He originally signed with Alabama in its 2023 recruiting class but his career took a turn after he was arrested. He redshirted that season and transferred to a junior college earlier this year.

Chandavian Bradley was a defensive end signee in Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class but he barely made it to campus before hitting a bump in the road. The former Rivals250 prospect was charged with reckless driving in the spring and was at a junior college by June.

Former Georgia commit Seven Cloud is another familiar name in the junior college prospect rankings. The defensive tackle out of the Peach State committed to Georgia’s 2023 class but never made it to campus. Now as a junior college prospect, Cloud is front of mind for a lot of college programs looking to add size on the interior of the defensive line.