College Fantasy Football: Top Big 12 Targets
· Yahoo Sports
College Fantasy Football is back! Yahoo revealed this week that it is bringing its massive fantasy football platform back to campus, opening the path for the broad CFB audience to dive into a new way to obsess over the sport this season. While fantasy football has been wildly popular in the NFL for decades, its collegiate little brother has hidden mostly in the shadows with a niche – if highly dedicated – following. For this initial reintroduction to the college game, Yahoo is limiting the player pool to that of the Power 4 conferences. CFF diehards will bemoan the perceived watered down product, longing for a deep dive into the Toledo depth chart and a late night sweat as Hawaii QB Micah Alejado drops a 50-point game on Utah State. There are great CFF outlets to scratch that itch, but for now the focus will be on the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC (plus Notre Dame).
The Big 12 has always been a ripe feeding ground for college fantasy players, usually featuring wide open and varied offenses matched up with a schedule of over-matched defenses, clearing the path for big time fantasy scoring. The league is loaded with fantasy fireworks again in 2026 with potential sleeper breakout candidates lurking deeper in your drafts.
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Which players from the Big 12 project as must-draft fantasy stars that will have you lifting your league’s trophy at the end of the season? (hint: get ready to learn Oklahoma State)
Quarterback
While your leaguemates may get distracted by the shiny objects like Arch Manning and Dante Moore, the Big 12 has some high end fantasy prospects behind center, including four of the consensus top ten P4 QBs in preseason projections. Eric Morris brings his high-powered offense and playmakers into the league, leaving North Texas for OK State and Cowboys QB Drew Mestemaker is expected to put up elite stats, even with the jump up into the Big 12. Joining him at the top of fantasy draft boards: Devon Dampier (Utah), Connor Weigman (Houston), and Avery Johnson (Kansas State), each of which brings major rushing upside in offenses expected to run up big scores every week. If you are deploy a late round QB strategy and are willing to wait at the position, the Big 12 offers many high upside sleepers at the position: BYU’s Bear Bachmeier returns after a breakout freshman campaign; Noah Fifita is back for a fifth season at Arizona after quietly tossing over 3,200 yards and 29 TDs last season; if Will Hammond is healthy, he’d be a good bet to deliver big numbers as the Red Raiders new QB; newcomers Alonza Barnett (UCF), DJ Lagway (UCF), Michael Hawkins (WVU), and Jaden Craig (TCU) could make a big splash upon joining the league.
Running Back
The Big 12 is once again the pinnacle of running back prowess in 2026 after ceding to top-end QB talent in 2025. This group may not end up with the national prominence and NFL Draft pedigree as the 2024 group that featured RJ Harvey, Ollie Gordon, Tahj Brooks, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Neal, but for fantasy managers, the league boasts a wealth of projected fantasy stars. Three Big 12 ball carriers rank in the Top 5 consensus rankings among P4 players. Again its OK State with a stand out as former Mean Green runner Caleb Hawkins is coming off an incredible freshman campaign in Denton with over 1,400 rushing yards, 32 receptions for 370 yards and 29 total scrimmage TDs; a fantasy monster a year ago now running behind a P4 offensive line in the same scheme that turned him into a star. 2025 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin is back for his senior season at BYU; a true workhorse rusher for the Cougars with over 1,300 yards and 12 scores last year. The Big 12’s Big Three fantasy targets is rounded out with former Horned Frog Cam Cook who led the nation in rush yards (1,659) and rush touchdowns (16), earning C-USA Player of the Year with Jacksonville State. Now with West Virginia under coach Rich Rodriguez, Cook is expected to perhaps have the heaviest workload of any RB in the nation. In a tier just below those elite backs are five more RBs in the top 25, highlighted by Makhi Hughes reuniting with Willie Fritz in Houston after a year of exile in Eugene. Joe Jackson (KSU), Wayshawn Parker (Utah), and TCU’s Jeremy Payne each project as major talents with opportunity for a heavy share of the team’s carries. The Texas Tech backfield has three (at least) potential stat-padding stars with Quinten Joyner returning after missing 2025 with injury – an injury that allowed Cameron Dickey & J’Koby Williams to become breakout stars.
The Big 12 has many sleeper candidates at RB as well. Look for Arizona State’s Kyson Brown to bounce back in a big way after missing most of last season with injury; with former backfield mate Raleek Brown taking the payday from the Longhorns, Kyson is set to earn the bulk of the carries for a Sun Devils squad that has produced a 1,000 yard rusher in eight straight seasons. Also keep an eye on how the Kansas backfield pecking order shakes out, as enigmatic KSU transfer Dylan Edwards, Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis, and Colorado State transfer Jalen Dupree battle for first team opportunities; if any can separate and become the Jayhawks primary ball carrier he could produce major stats.
Wide Receiver
Oh hello there top ten ranked Jordan Dwyer. Even without pass-happy turnover machines Kendall Briles & Josh Hoover running the offense, Dwyer projects as one of the top pass catchers in the nation. He put up 730 yards and 7 TDs on 54 receptions last season, now with top target Eric McAlister moved on, Dwyer is set to take on a massive role in the Horned Frogs offense in 2026. Joining Dwyer in the top ten is, you guessed it, another from the Denton-Stillwater pipeline: Wyatt Young who went insane in his sophomore campaign with the Mean Green last season with a 70-1264-10 stat line. Houston wide out Amare Thomas might be the top fantasy receiver in the nation outside of CFB26 cover boy Jeremiah Smith and CFB27 cover boy Malachi Toney. A target and reception magnet, Thomas brought in 67 catches for 966 yards and 12 scores last season and could become a household name by season’s end (or as soon as the Cougars upset the Red Raiders in Lubbock to open Big 12 play).
It gets a bit thin at WR in the Big 12 after that top-heavy start with many speculative targets entering potentially good situations or expanded roles. A couple names to keep an eye on: Omarion Miller picked up his Louis bag (and his 808 yards & 8 TDs) and walked away from Coach Prime after a breakout 2025 to head to Tempe, following in the footsteps of Jordyn Tyson who took the same path and became a top ten NFL Draft pick. One high-profile transfer that seems to be flying under the radar, perhaps because the expectations for Colorado are so low, but former San Jose State fantasy phenom Danny Scudero joins the Buffs after a monster 88-1297-10 performance in 2025 and could step into the role Miller vacated.
Tight End
The TE position is especially tough in College fantasy football, you’ll have some players that operate more like WRs but get the TE designation, but then some teams never use even highly touted TEs. Even with the unknowns of this volatile position, the Big 12 has some projected heavy hitters. The headliner is Texas Tech’s Terrance Carter who is back in Lubbock for his 5th collegiate season and will be a go-to target for Will Hammond in 2026. The league features some of the top returning TE production in the country with UCF’s Dylan Wade (43-523-5) & KSU’s Garrett Oakley (38-389-6). As for TCU, perhaps the new Gordon Sammis offense will utilize the position more than the previous regime, but it’s still hard to decipher who would be the top target at the position. The Horned Frogs return KaMorreun Pimpton & Lafayette Kaiuway and added potential breakout JUCO prospect Kari Ashley. TE is likely a stayaway until late in your draft, but if you hit on a diamond in the rough, it could be the fuel to a fantasy championship.
Team Offense
The Yahoo format implements a roster position that awards points based on team points scored, yards gained, and wins while deducting points for a loss or turnovers. Utah led the league in 2025 in points scored, followed closely by Texas Tech before a significant drop-off to the rest of the Big 12. It’s the same at the top for yards, although Baylor & TCU were much closer to the top of the pack, however the Revivalry squads also threw the most interceptions. The Horned Frogs bring in a new offense and new QB; it should be noted that Gordon Sammis’ UConn squad ranked third overall nationally in the Team Offense metric for 2025, per analysis from Fantasy Points.
Defense / Special Teams
Team Defense works the same way as traditional NFL fantasy leagues, with points accumulating for turnovers forced, sacks, and limiting points allowed. Texas Tech was so far head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the league here that it’s almost not worth mentioning anyone else. The Red Raiders lose some generational mercenaries to the NFL from last season’s team, but have restocked the defensive roster and should be a top target at the DST position again. With its cupcake opening schedule featuring the nation’s easiest schedule among the Power 4 conferences, expect TTU to be the first DST off the board in CFB drafts. Outside of Lubbock, the next tier at the top of the league is a cluster of BYU, Utah, and TCU. The Horned Frogs will be without interception magnet Bud Clark, but Jamel Johnson returns at Safety after leading the Big 12 with five interceptions last season.