Syracuse’s 2026 recruiting class just lost some of its depth.
Zaiden McDonald, a three-star defensive back from Newark, New Jersey, announced his commitment to Stanford on Wednesday. McDonald’s announcement comes after he originally committed to Syracuse on March 31, flipping from the Orange to one of their ACC opponents out West.
McDonald, who visited Stanford last weekend, was scheduled to visit the Orange this weekend, but he won’t take the trip to the JMA Wireless Dome after announcing his commitment. With McDonald’s commitment, Syracuse’s 2026 recruiting class was ranked 17th in the country, which has since dropped to 18th after losing McDonald to Stanford.
McDonald is ranked as the 15th best player in New Jersey, and would have joined 2026 commit and offensive lineman JoJo White as the two players in Syracuse’s class from the same state as head coach Fran Brown, who played football at Camden High School in New Jersey.
While it might be unfortunate for the Orange to lose McDonald, especially to an ACC opponent, McDonald was first recruited by Brown’s predecessor, Dino Babers. That takes some of the sting out of losing McDonald, even though Brown re-offered McDonald in Jan. 2024, meaning he still wanted the three-star to play for Syracuse.
With or without McDonald, Syracuse still has a deep 2026 recruiting class, headlined by four-star prospects Amare Gough and Jarius Rodgers. Gough and Rodgers are both ranked inside the top 250 players in the country, and both should help Brown continue to transform Syracuse into a national contender and a team with the talent to win a national championship.
