Although they haven't secured one yet, the Oklahoma Sooners are at least closing in on their first defensive commitment for the 2026 recruiting class.
Linebacker Mason Marden on Monday announced via X his top-5 school choices, which included OU, Arizona State, Kansas, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Sooners closing in on first defensive commitment for 2026
Making Marden's final group of schools was just another recent step closer to the Sooners finally landing a defender from the 2026 class. On the same day as Marden's announcement, three-star cornerback Ryan Gilbert also unveiled his top-3 of OU, SMU and Houston.
Highly touted defensive end Jake Kreul also recently scheduled five official visits, essentially narrowing his choices down to five. Kreul will visit Norman on June 20, as well as Colorado, Ohio State, Florida and Texas during the summer. Kreul is the headliner of OU's defensive targets after ESPN recently gave him five stars.
Gilbert will also be in Norman on June 20, and if Marden schedules an official visit soon, he likely will be, too, during OU's ChampU weekend.
Marden is a three-star linebacker from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in Saint Louis, Missouri. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 84 linebacker in the 2026 class and No. 10 overall prospect in the state of Missouri.
The Sooners just recently jumped on Marden after offering him on April 24 and apparently made a quick impression. Right now, OU is the only school on Marden's list that he doesn't have an official visit scheduled for yet.
Marden also has offers from Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota and more. In-state Missouri still hasn't extended an offer and he has only two SEC offers, but there's obviously something Brent Venables and his staff liked about the under-recruited Marden.
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