North Crowley star, No. 1 ranked athlete in Texas announces commitment
North Crowley five-star class of 2027 cornerback John Meredith III announced his commitment to Texas Friday on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show.
Meredith, 247Sports’ No. 1 ranked recruit in Texas and No. 1 cornerback nationwide, considered Alabama and Texas A&M in his top three and Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State in his top six.
“The best stay in Texas, so I know I wanted to go to a Texas school,” Meredith told McAfee while surrounded by family.
Before he heads to Austin, he may not play for North Crowley in 2026, as the District 11-6A executive committee ruled him ineligible due to transfer for athletic purposes. He can appeal the decision to the University Interscholastic League.
Meredith, with a 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame, has established himself as a top performer in the Fort Worth-area, earning Star-Telegram All-Area First Team and MaxPreps All-American honors as a junior with Euless Trinity.
He has an elite 40-yard dash time of 4.32 seconds and is the No. 2 ranked player nationwide, according to 247Sports composite rankings. He participated in the Under Armour All-American Game, registering an interception.
Meredith is the Texas Longhorns’ highest-rated class of 2027 recruit and the last of the nation’s top 10 recruits to announce a commitment. He joins Fort Worth-area standout Cameron Hall, a four-star Mansfield Summit defensive end, in Texas’ 2027 recruiting class.
Meredith becomes the Horns’ second five-star pledge, joining wide receiver Easton Royal of Brother Martin High School in Louisiana, who committed in November.
Ahead of Meredith’s commitment, Texas held the No. 13 class in the 2027 recruiting cycle nationally and now boasts the No. 6 overall class. It’s a small step behind the elite classes the Longhorns have assembled since 2022, all of which ranked in the top five.
Texas, however, has seen huge success in the transfer portal; the Horns landed nine four-stars and one five-star in 2026, landing the nation’s third-best transfer class.
Despite Meredith currently being ineligible to play, North Crowley will still enter the 2026 season with a defense that includes Arizona State pledge Elijajuan Houston, the 2025 Star-Telegram Defensive Player of the Year and four-star cornerback Jerry Outhouse Jr., a UCLA pledge.
North Crowley head coach DeMarcus Harris is entering his first season leading the Panthers. He was promoted following the departure of Ray Gates, who became a special assistant to head coach Neal Brown and an edges coach at North Texas.
The 2026 UIL realignment sent the Panthers into District 11-6A, a group including Crowley, Dallas Skyline, Duncanville, Mansfield, Mansfield Lake Ridge, Red Oak and Waxahachie — it’ll be one of Texas’ top districts with potential championship contenders North Crowley and Duncanville clashing in the regular season.
North Crowley won the 2024 Class 6A Division I state title and Duncanville made a run to the Class 6A Division I state championship game in 2025, falling to Galena Park North Shore. Duncanville won state titles in 2022 and 2023, defeating North Shore twice.
This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 12:22 PM.
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