The 2026 high school football season kicked off Tuesday, Aug. 4, with the first official day of practice across the state, 16 days prior to the first night of games Thursday, Aug. 20.
Last season, two Milwaukee-area programs won state titles at Camp Randall Stadium with Grafton’s last-second victory to win the Division 3 state crown, while Arrowhead stole victory from the jaws of defeat in the Division 1 state title game against Bay Port.
To kickstart this season’s preseason coverage, we’ll take a look at some of the top players across the area within each position group heading into the 2026 season. Here’s five of the top linebackers, listed in alphabetical order, along with 10 other names to know this campaign.
Naverion Flowers, sr., Catholic Memorial
Catholic Memorial’s boatload of talent continues to find itself on these lists with the return of all-Parkland Conference first-team linebacker Naverion Flowers. Last season, Flowers tallied 39 total tackles (21 solo), but what stood out was the 11 tackles for loss for the second-best mark on the team behind Neeko Rodgers Jr., who departs the program after graduation. Flowers added four touchdowns on the ground offensively for good measure as a short-yardage tank in the backfield. CMH’s junior class in 2025 stood out and made an impact for the D3 state semifinalists. They’ll need Flowers to take another step defensively as new members of the Greater Metro Conference in 2026 in the midst of a much tougher schedule that includes matchups against two WIAA Division 1 title contenders in Arrowhead and Muskego that could pay dividends come playoff time.
Bryson King, jr., Pewaukee
Only nine players on the entire 2025 all-Classic 8 Conference roster (including the honorable-mention selections) weren’t upperclassmen. Pewaukee junior linebacker Bryson King was one of those nine selections after a sophomore season where he led the Pirates in total tackles (103). With Carson Taylor departing the program following his senior season, King will likely take on a bigger responsibility in the middle of the Pewaukee defense. Add in fellow talented junior Colton Wall (96 tackles, 12 TFL, five sacks) and the Pirates have a strong 1-2 punch defensively that could help them massively as they shift gears from the Classic 8 Conference to Parkland Conference title contenders in 2026.
Mason McGuire, sr., Slinger
The 2024 WIAA Division 2 state champions couldn’t replicate the same success in 2025, but the Owls remain one of the top programs in the North Shore Conference with athletes like senior Mason McGuire returning in 2026. McGuire was as productive as any linebacker in the area last season as a junior, tallying 118 total tackles with 16 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. The senior could provide some much-needed stability to a defense that allowed 44.8 points per game to the four opponents they faced who all made at least the state quarterfinal round during the 2025 postseason.
Will Picago, sr., Greendale
The Woodland Conference had its struggles behind the likes of D3 state champion Grafton and Whitnall in 2025, but it wasn’t from a lack of talent. A name many around the area may not know is senior linebacker Will Picago from Greendale. Picago was everywhere for the Panthers on defense last season as a junior, tallying a team-high 126 tackles on his way to all-Woodland Conference first-team honors as an inside linebacker. He added three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, an interception and 11 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown on offense for good measure.
Erik Ynnocencio, sr., Racine Case
After Racine Case’s shocking first-round upset of co-Classic 8 Conference champion Oconomowoc in the D1 playoffs two seasons ago, one player Case coach Anton Graham couldn’t quit raving about prior to the 2025 campaign was linebacker Erik Ynnocencio. After a season with a team-high 95 tackles (57 solo), nine tackles for loss and three sacks, Graham’s vision for Ynnocencio appears to have come true. Ynnocencio was named the Southeast Conference’s co-outside linebacker of the year with Oak Creek’s Landon Di Villo as a sophomore, while teammate Daylon Ward was named the conference’s defensive end of the year. With Ward’s productivity gone following his graduation, Ynnocencio becomes a more vital piece to the puzzle for Case in 2026.
Other Milwaukee-area linebackers to know in 2026
Anthony Aker, sr., Kenosha Indian Trail; Jayden Adams, sr., Muskego; Imran Clark, sr., Milwaukee Riverside; Devin Drajkowski, sr., Franklin; Devin Eberhardy, sr., Sussex Hamilton; Nathan Goeckermann, jr., Brookfield Central; Tyson Graf, sr., Lake Country Lutheran; Ashton Grulke, sr., Hartford; Tyson Jacques, sr., Oconomowoc; Corbin Jansen, sr., Oak Creek.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Elite linebackers looking to rack up big tackle numbers again in 2026
Reporting by Michael Whitlow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michael Whitlow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
