2026 LB Mason Marden commits to Arizona State

Saint Louis Ladue Horton Watkins three-star linebacker Mason Marden has committed to Arizona State, he announced on Wednesday evening.

He chose the Sun Devils over Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Marden is the No. 99 LB and No. 12 player in Missouri in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the No. 1,151 prospect nationally.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder picked up an offer from the Big 12 program at the end of January following a visit from LBs coach AJ Cooper. Marden made his way to Tempe for a spring visit in March and is now in the fold for head coach Kenny Dillingham and the ASU staff.

Playing linebacker and tight end at the high school level, Marden is coming off a monster junior campaign that witnessed 170 total tackles, three sacks and a pair of interceptions. He becomes the 14th member of Arizona State’s 2026 recruiting class.

More on Arizona State Recruiting

Dillingham and Co. currently have a top-20 class nationally, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. That’s good for the top spot in the Big 12, too.

Back in September, the Sun Devils quietly picked up a commitment from El Paso (Texas) Del Valle four-star quarterback Jake Fette. The 6-foot-1 gunslinger has long been an On3 outlier and now ranks as the No. 37 prospect and No. 4 QB in the On300. He remains solid with ASU despite his rising stock.

Arizona State has seven players from Texas in its 2026 class to date. Humble Atascocita four-star running back Cardae Mack, Cibolo Steele three-star EDGE Julian Hugo and Grand Prairie View South Oak Cliff three-star offensive tackle Cortavious Tisby are other Texans committed.

“Arizona State is a very special place,” Hugo told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “The team culture really makes it stand out. They all believe in what the program does and how they work. Their team faith and confidence will then extremely far and it showed this previous season. The coaching staff and team culture.”

Mack, who pledged last month, is the No. 28 RB in the cycle. He headlines the class alongside Fette and Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern four-star wide receiver Nalin Scott, a fellow top-400 prospect.

Other top commits in the class include: Thousand Oaks (Calif.) Newbury Park On300 tight end Hayden Vercher, Dripping Springs (Texas) three-star WR Cooper Reid, Marietta (Ga.) Kell three-star cornerback Jalen Williams, Richardson (Texas) Berkner three-star CB DaQuwan Dunn and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro three-star safety Zeth Theus.