2026 5-star QB Ryder Lyons named Gatorade California Football Player of the Year

Folsom star quarterback Ryder Lyons continues to establish himself as one of the top prospects in the nation.

On Friday, the junior five-star prospect was named the 2024 Gatorade California Football Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder led the Bulldogs to a 12-2 record this season. In his first 13 games of the year, Lyons threw for 2,874 yards and 44 touchdowns while also rushing for 556 yards and 12 TDs. Folsom lost in the CIF Division 1-AA North Regional championship on Friday night.

“Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Lyons as California’s best high school football player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas),” Gatorade wrote of Lyons in a press release.

Lyons is the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 3 QB in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 2 junior in California.

Lyons is one of nation’s top uncommitted prospects

Lyons remains a top priority for a slew of top programs heading into the winter. He is one of just two top-10 quarterbacks in the 2026 cycle that remains uncommitted, as of Dec. 7. The in-state USC Trojans are currently trending for his pledge, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

“I have been telling people my commitment is coming sooner than later and I still feel that way,” Lyons told On3 in September. “It might happen in the next month or so. I just have to keep praying about it and make sure I know where home is.”

“USC is high on my list. There is a lot to like about USC. You have coach Riley. He has coached great quarterbacks that have won the Heisman Trophy and been drafted No. 1 in the NFL Draft. He is a great offensive mind and the defense is now playing at a different level.”

Lyons has an On3 NIL Valuation of $889K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.