Lamar Brown, No. 1-ranked recruit, chooses LSU over Texas A&M - ESPN

Five-star defensive tackle Lamar Brown, ESPN's No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class, announced his commitment to LSU on Thursday, securing a seismic local recruiting win for coach Brian Kelly and the Tigers.

Brown, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound defender from Erwinville, Louisiana, announced his decision on «SportsCenter» from a ceremony at University Laboratory School, located on the LSU campus just one mile east of Tiger Stadium.

Brown chose LSU over Texas A&M, Miami and Texas following official visits with each program this spring. If Brown hangs on at No. 1 in the ESPN 300 and signs later this year, he'll mark the Tigers' first overall top-ranked recruit since Leonard Fournette in 2014.

«It's something not a lot of kids from Baton Rouge get to do, honestly,» Brown told ESPN of his pledge to LSU. «Everyone wants to play at Tiger Stadium. I'm blessed to be going to play there.»

Despite home ties and the school's proximity to Brown, LSU faced a tight, down-to-the-wire recruiting battle with SEC rivals Texas A&M to keep ESPN's top-ranked 2026 defender home.

According to ESPN sources, Brown remained undecided between the schools as late as Wednesday night. Sources within both the Tigers and Aggies football programs remained optimistic Thursday morning before Brown informed each coaching staff of his decision shortly before his ceremony.

The first major program involved in Brown's process, Texas A&M carried its confidence into the late stages Thursday on the power of the program's all-out recruiting efforts with the versatile, two-way lineman over the past two years.

The Aggies hosted Brown at least eight times after June 1, 2024, and Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko and his staff made routine trips to visit Brown across his