Rochester, N.Y, — Wide receiver Messiah Hampton, the top-ranked football prospect in New York in the Class of 2026, has committed to Oregon over Syracuse.
The four-star recruit announced his commitment in Rochester on Friday afternoon, nearly one week after his final visits to Syracuse and Oregon.
Hampton, who plays for Rochester’s James Monroe High School, had his seven finalists pictured on a wheel and spun it, with the wheel ultimately designed to land on Oregon.
The announcement was live-streamed by recruiting website On3.com and attended by local television reporters.
In remarks on the livestream, Hampton said it was Oregon wide receivers coach Ross Douglas Sr. that was the deciding factor for the Ducks.
Douglas coached last year at Syracuse before taking a job with Oregon.
“Couch Douglas, he came from Syracuse,” Hampton said. “We built a great bond.”
Hampton is one of two highly-coveted 2026 wide receivers Syracuse is pursuing, along with five-star recruit Calvin Russell, who is expected to make his college decision on July 5.
A 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver, Hampton is ranked just outside the top-100 players nationally, according to 247Sports.com.
Syracuse and Oregon were considered by recruiting experts to be the top-two teams on Hampton’s list thanks to Douglas.
The other schools he listed as finalists included Michigan, Penn State, Miami, Georgia and Ohio State.
Hampton can formally sign an agreement to play for Oregon in December.
Syracuse’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 24 in the country by 247 Sports. That places the Orange seventh in the ACC.
Only 15 schools in the country have more players ranked as four-star prospects than the Orange’s four.
Syracuse and Fran Brown were trying to land New York’s top recruit for the second straight year.
Syracuse freshman defensive lineman Quante Gillians finished as the top-ranked prospect in 2025 in the 247 rankings, the first time that happened in more than 15 years.