2026 Preseason All-District • District 7-5A Division I
Blackshear Leads a Deep Preseason All-District Defense
By Merv Moore
The offensive side of District 7-5A Division I gets the recruiting attention, but the defensive side may ultimately decide the championship.
West Mesquite’s run to the regional round last year wasn’t built on scoreboard numbers alone, and the group that got them there is largely still standing — which is exactly why the Wranglers hold the early edge on this side of the ball, too.
Crandall, North Mesquite and Tyler all return players who earned real postseason recognition in 2025, even if their overall defensive units enter 2026 as bigger question marks than West Mesquite’s.
The following selections make up the Shop in Seagoville Preseason All-District Defense — based on prior all-district honors, returning experience, and 2026 expectations. These are preseason picks, not official coaches’ awards.
Preseason Defensive MVP
Kentrell Blackshear
🏆 First-Team All-District, 2025
Blackshear anchors a West Mesquite secondary that helped carry the Wranglers to the regional round last season, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football specifically names him as one of the key returners on the district’s preseason favorite. That combination of proven production and program-wide respect makes him the clear choice for our preseason Defensive MVP.
Defensive Front
Bryce Anderson
🏆 First-Team All-District as a sophomore
Earning first-team recognition as a sophomore makes Anderson one of the most accomplished young defensive linemen in the entire district, and it gives North Mesquite a genuinely experienced edge presence well ahead of most juniors at the position.
Colton Craft
Craft doesn’t carry a prior all-district honor into 2026, but he enters the season with real opportunity in front of him on a Crandall defense replacing several experienced linemen. The Pirates need more pressure off the edge, and Craft is the player best positioned to provide it.
Linebackers
Markeithian Potts
🏆 District 7-5A Division I Defensive Newcomer of the Year (as a sophomore)
Potts enters his junior season as one of Tyler’s few established defensive leaders, giving a unit that needs to grow up quickly a player already anchoring the middle of the field.
Jailon Hicks
🏆 First-Team All-District as a junior
With several West Mesquite seniors graduating off last year’s front seven, Hicks moves into an even larger leadership role for a defense that still expects to be the district’s best.
Camren Greene
🏆 First-Team All-District, 2025
Greene joins Anderson to give North Mesquite proven, previously-honored players at two different levels of the defense — a rare combination for a program projected outside the district’s top three.
Cayson Hardman
🏆 Honorable Mention All-District, 2025
Crandall lost significant experience throughout its defense to graduation, and Hardman’s senior season carries extra weight as a result — the Pirates need him to grow from honorable mention into one of the unit’s clear leaders.
Defensive Backs
Davyn Davis
🏆 Second-Team All-District as a sophomore
Davis already carries real varsity experience into his junior year and is expected to take on an even larger role in a Crandall secondary that needs proven pieces after this offseason’s graduation losses.
Devin Blackerby
🏆 First-Team All-District as a junior
Blackerby gives West Mesquite another proven piece playing behind Blackshear, deepening what’s already the district’s most experienced secondary.
B.J. Logan
🏆 First-Team All-District, 2025
With Blackshear, Blackerby and Logan all back, West Mesquite returns three first-team-caliber defensive backs to the same secondary — the deepest group of its kind anywhere in the district.
Jayden McCleary
🏆 Second-Team All-District, 2025
McCleary’s experience matters more than usual this fall. With several starters gone elsewhere on the defense, his ability to lead a young secondary could determine how quickly Crandall’s unit finds its footing.
Punter
Diego Dominguez
🏆 Punter MVP, previous district
Field position tends to decide tight district games, and Dominguez gives W.T. White a proven weapon in that fight even in seasons when the Longhorns aren’t the most talented team on the field.
Preseason First Team
| Pos | Player | School | Class |
| DE | Bryce Anderson | North Mesquite | Jr. |
| DE | Colton Craft | Crandall | Sr. |
| ILB | Markeithian Potts | Tyler | Jr. |
| LB | Jailon Hicks | West Mesquite | Sr. |
| LB | Camren Greene | North Mesquite | Sr. |
| LB | Cayson Hardman | Crandall | Sr. |
| CB | Kentrell Blackshear | West Mesquite | Sr. |
| CB | Davyn Davis | Crandall | Jr. |
| S | Devin Blackerby | West Mesquite | Sr. |
| S | B.J. Logan | West Mesquite | Sr. |
| S | Jayden McCleary | Crandall | Sr. |
| P | Diego Dominguez | W.T. White | Sr. |
The Early Edge Goes to West Mesquite
No team enters 2026 with a stronger group of proven returning defenders than West Mesquite, particularly in the secondary, where Blackshear, Blackerby and Logan give the Wranglers three first-team-caliber pieces in the same unit. North Mesquite counters with two legitimate difference-makers in Anderson and Greene, and Tyler has the beginnings of a defensive identity in Potts.
Crandall places four players on this preseason team, but two of them — Craft and Hardman — reflect larger roles they’re stepping into rather than production they’ve already proven. The Pirates’ defense remains the biggest variable in the district championship race. If those returning players make the jump this preseason team is betting on, the gap between Crandall and West Mesquite could close considerably by November.
