The massive wave of summer commitments has come and gone and the 2025 team recruiting rankings look a lot different than they did in May. Which teams are punching above their weight?
Rivals rankings director and portal analyst Adam Friedman looks at some programs that are overachieving in the 2025 Recruiting Team Rankings.
MORE: Recruiting is fun again in the state of Alabama | Ten programs that won July in recruiting
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CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
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BAYLOR
RELATED: Baylor commit list
It’s been widely speculated that Dave Aranda is coaching for his job this season so he’s pulling out all the stops on the recruiting trail. Baylor has signed seven four-stars in the last five years and it already has four in this recruiting class. The Bears haven’t signed two Rivals250 prospects in the same class since 2016 but they currently have two right now in receivers Jacorey Watson and Taz Williams Jr.
Their No. 25-ranked class is 24 spots higher than their previous five-year average ranking. This Baylor recruiting class has an average star rating per commit of 3.21 which, if it finishes there, would be its highest ever.
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MISSOURI
RELATED: Missouri commit list
Missouri is doing a great job capitalizing on last year’s success and the lofty expectations the program has coming into this season. The Tigers, with nine four-star commits and eight three-star commits, have never finished a recruiting cycle with more four-stars than three-stars. They could very well do that this year.
On top of that, Eli Drinkwitz and staff will likely set new team records for most four-stars signed in a single recruiting class and highest average star rating per commit. Their current ranking of No. 13 is tied with the 2022 class as the highest-ranked Missouri recruiting class ever.
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RUTGERS
RELATED: Rutgers commit list
The Scarlet Knights are perhaps overachieving more than any other program on this list. Greg Schiano and staff are doing a phenomenal job of securing prospects they haven’t traditionally landed.
Rutgers has double the number of four-stars in its 2025 class compared with its 2024 class. Its current class ranking of No. 17 is 31 spots higher than its previous five-year average ranking. If the rankings were final today, this would be the Scarlet Knights' highest-ranked class ever. With an average star rating of 3.1, Rutgers is on pace to sign back-to-back top-35 recruiting classes for the first time since 2011-12.
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SMU
RELATED: SMU commit list
If the rankings were finalized today, this would be SMU’s best recruiting class ever. Rhett Lashlee and company don’t have an incredibly high bar to clear to accomplish that feat but it is noteworthy.
The Mustangs have signed three four-star prospects in the last five years and this class currently features seven of them. SMU’s current ranking of No. 24 is 26 spots higher than its previous five-year average ranking. This 2025 recruiting class is also on pace to set an SMU record for highest average star rating per commit.
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SYRACUSE
RELATED: Syracuse commit list
Fran Brown arrived at Syracuse and recruiting hasn’t been the same since, as the Orange have been recruiting at a pace Syracuse fans have never seen.
At No. 32 in the team rankings, Syracuse is up more than 27 spots over its previous five-year average recruiting ranking. The Orange's current average star rating per commit, if it stays where it is, would be a record for a Syracuse recruiting class.
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UCF
RELATED: UCF commit list
UCF is getting ready to make some waves in the Big 12 this season and its recruiting efforts are hitting a new level. The Knights have never finished with a top 25 class but they could this year if things break their way.
UCF’s No. 21 class in the team rankings is 30 spots higher than its previous five-year average and, with eight four-star commits, the Knights are crushing their five-year average of less than three four-star signees.
If Gus Malzahn and staff can hang onto their 3.4 average star rating per commit it will be the highest in program history.
