Hamilton Football 2026 Preview, Players and Schedule | Top 25 Public HSFB
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2026 Teams to Know Season Preview: Hamilton (AZ)
Hamilton brings USC commit Roye Oliver III, Kansas commit Richie Dexter and another offered underclassman into Travis Dixon's second season.
Top 25 Public HSFB8/25/20266 min read
Hamilton won its first 11 games in 2025 before the Open Division ended the run. That finish left the Huskies with both proof and frustration: proof that Travis Dixon's first team could beat almost everyone, and frustration that Arizona's deepest bracket still found the flaw.
Roye Oliver III reclassified into the 2027 class and committed to USC after a season that made him one of the most productive receivers in the country. Richie Dexter is headed to Kansas, while Derrick LeBlanc, Kacey Allen Jr. and Keaton Fields all return with major recruiting attention of their own. Quarterback Jax Sculley is back on the roster after an injury ended his sophomore season, giving Hamilton both uncommon firepower and one important health question entering the opener.
Team Snapshot
Team: Hamilton Huskies
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Head Coach: Travis Dixon
2025 Record: 11-1
2025 Finish: AIA Open Division playoffs
T25PS Ranking: No. 57
Eleven Wins Were the Starting Point
Oliver changes the trajectory of every snap. He can win outside, work through traffic and flip field position in the return game, which means a defense cannot solve Hamilton simply by assigning its best corner to him. Dexter gives the Huskies the experienced edge protector needed to keep those answers available, while Skyler Cole and Christian Riley supply proven production around them.
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Sculley threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 41 touchdowns as a sophomore before an injury ended his season. His return gives Hamilton continuity at the most important position, but the Huskies do not need him to carry every possession. Allen, Fields and LeBlanc lead a defense loaded with length, ball production and pass-rush ability, and that balance is what gives Hamilton a championship ceiling.
The Open Division will eventually force Hamilton away from its first answer. That is the test I care about. If the Huskies can protect Sculley, stay efficient when Oliver draws extra coverage and let their recruited defenders create short fields, last season's 11-1 finish becomes a starting point rather than the limit.
Players to Know
Roye Oliver III, WR/KR, Class of 2027
Oliver caught 92 passes for 1,839 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2025, then added two punt-return scores for 31 total touchdowns. That season earned him MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year and Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year honors. He has since reclassified into 2027 and committed to USC, but the recruiting label is secondary to what Hamilton already knows: the ball belongs in his hands whenever a game begins to tilt.
Richie Dexter, OT, Class of 2027
Dexter is about 6-foot-7 and well over 300 pounds, did not allow a sack during his junior season and carries a 4.10 GPA. The Kansas commit gives Hamilton a veteran blind-side protector with the size to move defenders and the feet to survive on an island. His work matters even more with Sculley returning from injury.
Derrick LeBlanc, DE, Class of 2027
LeBlanc produced about 78 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hurries and seven forced fumbles last season. His offer list includes Arizona, Kentucky, Colorado State, Navy, UTSA and several Ivy League programs. Hamilton can move him around the front, but his central job is simple: make opposing quarterbacks speed up before the secondary has to cover for long.
Kacey Allen Jr., S/WR, Class of 2028
Allen finished 2025 with roughly 79 tackles and four interceptions, production that matches the national recruitment now surrounding him. Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee are among his many offers. He gives Hamilton a safety who can erase mistakes, close running lanes and turn a late throw into an extra possession.
Keaton Fields, CB/WR, Class of 2028
Fields is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound corner who intercepted four passes last season and can also create matchup problems at receiver. More than 30 Division I programs have offered him, including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and USC. His length lets Hamilton challenge receivers at the line instead of protecting the secondary with soft coverage.
Jax Sculley, QB, Class of 2028
Sculley completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,947 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2025, with two more scores on the ground. Arizona, Memphis, Southern Miss and Texas Tech have offered him. His sophomore season ended with an injury in the regular-season finale, so how comfortably he settles back into live action is one of Hamilton's most important early-season stories.
Schedule Breakdown
The Rest of the Veteran Core
Cole rushed for 921 yards and scored nine total touchdowns in 2025 while earning a Northern Arizona offer. Riley caught 39 passes for 474 yards and four scores before committing to Eastern Washington. Nevada commit Connor Strand, San Diego offer holder Dylan Linder, Colorado State target Jamar Patterson and Drake offer holder Ilijah Hoye give Hamilton more college-recruited experience than the six names at the top of this section suggest.
The Next Recruiting Wave
The younger group is already drawing attention, too. Running back Devante Roebuck, receiver Roman Oliver and linemen Renzo Wilmarth and Diego Gonzalez all hold Division I offers, while Chance Eason and Preston DeGraffenreid add two more recruited athletes from the 2029 class. They do not all have to become stars immediately; Hamilton needs them to make the rotation deeper and keep the veterans from carrying an unsustainable load.
Hamilton opens at Brophy on Aug. 27 and then hosts Nevada power Arbor View. Those two games should reveal quickly how comfortably Sculley settles back in and how defenses plan to handle Oliver without opening space for Cole, Riley and the rest of the offense.
The defining stretch comes late. Road games at Pinnacle and Liberty lead into Cactus Canyon and the Nov. 5 rivalry game with Chandler. Hamilton will have nearly a full season to develop before it faces the opponents most likely to shape its Open Division path.
Complete 2026 Schedule
Aug. 27: at Brophy College Prep
Sept. 4: Arbor View (Nev.)
Sept. 11: Perry
Sept. 18: Casteel
Sept. 25: at Williams Field
Oct. 9: at Valley Vista
Oct. 16: at Pinnacle
Oct. 23: at Liberty
Oct. 30: Cactus Canyon
Nov. 5: Chandler
Biggest Question
What does Hamilton have when an Open Division opponent takes away the Huskies' first answer?
That is where a championship team separates itself from an 11-win one. Oliver and Dexter can command attention, but LeBlanc, Allen, Fields and Sculley have to punish the adjustment. Hamilton needs multiple dependable ways to win rather than one explosive plan.
Bottom Line
I see Hamilton as one of Arizona's most complete title candidates. The Huskies have two major commitments, an emerging offered underclassman and the experience of an 11-1 season. The remaining step is proving that depth in the game that ends someone else's year.
MISTER F00TBALL's National High School Football Composite Rankings, partnered with and powered by Prep Gridiron Logistics, the only rankings to include every national poll and every team receiving a Top 25 vote.
9-1 Regular Season, AIA Open Semi-finals. I like this team in every regular season besides at Liberty. Then I think Liberty and Basha are the top two currently in Arizona, which means they fall in the semis.
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