Grady Emerson, No. 1 Player For 2026, Flips Commitment From TCU To Texas

Image credit: Grady Emerson In Jupiter 2024 (Photo by Tom DiPace)

Grady Emerson, the No. 1 high school player in the 2026 class, has flipped his commitment from TCU to Texas. Emerson announced his new commitment Monday night on Instagram.

Emerson, a 16-year-old shortstop at Argyle High in Texas, might be too good to ever make it to campus for the Longhorns because he’s a projected first-rounder with a chance to be a top 10 overall pick, but it would be a major win for Texas if he does get to school.

Emerson is 6-foot-2, 180 pounds with a sweet lefthanded swing that’s calm, compact and balanced. He’s one of the best pure hitters in the country regardless of class, recognizing spin out of the hand early and manipulating the barrel well to be consistently on time with a high contact rate and the ability to use the whole field. While Emerson’s hitting ability stands out the most, he has started to come into more power over the past year, and he has room to fill out and turn more of his doubles into home runs. He’s a good athlete, as well, who fields his position well at shortstop with soft hands and good body control.

Texas is building a powerhouse 2026 recruiting class. Including Emerson, the Longhorns have commitments from five of the top 25 players in the class: righthander Trey Rangel (No. 8), lefthander Brody Bumila (No. 15), third baseman Beau Peterson (No. 16) and catcher Brady Murrietta (No. 23). Overall, 10 of the top 150 players in the 2026 class are Texas commits.