Dan Mullen and UNLV land commitment from 2026 QB Derek Garcia

Ventura (Calif.) three-star quarterback Derek Garcia has committed to UNLV, he announced on Friday.

The 6-foot-3 signal-caller chose the Rebels after decommitting from San Diego State earlier this week. He was pledged to the Aztecs since January.

Garcia is the No. 881 overall prospect and No. 59 QB in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 81 player in California.

New UNLV head coach Dan Mullen and his staff in Las Vegas have their QB this cycle. Garcia becomes commitment No. 6 for the Rebels, joining a class that ranks No. 63 nationally, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

As a junior for Ventura, Garcia broke out, throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 27 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He completed 63 percent of his passes and also ran for a pair of scores last fall.

Ventura won seven games and finished as a top-200 team in the Golden State, per the On3 Composite Rankings. The Cougars won five of their last six games and will be poised for a big 2025 with Garcia at the helm entering his senior campaign.

UNLV has No. 1 class in Mountain West to date

The appeal of playing for Mullen will draw plenty of recruiting action to Vegas this cycle. Of the six commits in the class, five states are already represented: California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah.

Plant City (Fla.) three-star wide receiver Jesse Harden is the top-ranked commit in the class, ranking as the No. 118 receiver in the nation. He’s one of three pass-catchers in the mix thus far, alongside Carrollton (Ga.0 three-star WR Peyton Zachary and Santa Monica (Calif.) St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy WR DeMari Nunley.

Harden, Nunley and Sandusky (Ohio) Perkins interior offensive lineman Eli Sanchez each committed to UNLV in April. Sanchez and Sandy (Utah) Alta EDGE Cole Albrecht round out the class, which sits at No. 1 in the Mountain West.

Last cycle, UNLV signed 17 high school prospects and the No. 82 class nationally. The lone blue-chipper to ink with the Rebels was Jefferson (Texas) On300 running back Kamran Williams.